Contest
by Iwovepizza
Summary: Percy and Jason have been captured by the giants, who intend to sacrifice them in three days. When the two think it's all over, a hooded figure appears and offers her help with only a small price: to not tell anyone else of her existence. Can Percy and Jason trust this stranger with their lives? And what happens when they find out who she really is?
1. The Outcasts

**(A/N) Hi everyone! This is my first-ever fanfiction. Please R&R and enjoy the Damn Chapter. That'll be my motto for this fanfiction. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the PJO characters. I only own Avery O'Hara, Simon Drake, and Ambrosia**

Chapter One: The Outcasts

**Nico POV**

It's just my luck that everyone with a boyfriend or girlfriend on the Argo II went out on a huge triple date on the exact day I'd decided to come out to Percy. Yeah, I was relieved at first since I was able to dodge the entire awkward conversation about me having a crush on him since I was a kid, but now I'm totally regretting it. Now I was stuck on the Argo with nobody for company except Loser Leo and Reyna. Reyna wasn't half bad, but she was still penetrating and kept to herself. All three of us were outcasts when it came to the love world.

We were talking in the large closet that the seven had tried to spice up and make a guest room for Reyna and me. It barely fit our two beds, let alone all our stuff. The wall above Reyna's bed was decorated with pictures, medals, and awards, while my wall was plain and devoid of anything cheerful. There was one picture of me, the seven, Reyna, and Hedge standing in front of the House of Hades but that was it. Neither I nor Reyna was smiling. Coach Hedge had waved his bat and yelled "DIE!" at the camera just as the passing nymph snapped it for us and now in the picture he looked like he was in the process of regurgitating his cud.

"It's so unfair that we have to stay behind." I scoffed and lay on my cot, staring at the ceiling.

"I know." She replied sourly. Her armor was in a heap at the fort of her bed along with her praetor's cape. She was wearing her Camp Jupiter T-shirt and her hair was braided back as always. I couldn't help glancing at her obsidian eyes, which seemed to bore into me as if calculating how many ways she could kill me with the supplies she had in the room.

"Where are they going anyway?" I asked and turned away when she saw me staring. After we'd delivered the Athena Parthenos to Half-Blood Hill, we shadow-traveled back to the Argo without Hedge, who was now a father to Gleeson Hedge Jr., and we were accompanying the seven on their trip to slay the giants. We figured they could use as much help as possible. Today was a day off, since the stress has been weighing us down. We decided to take a little break. It was still a three-day's journey to where we had to be, but Leo insisted that with the new rocket boosters he'd installed, that time could be cut in half. With that on their minds, the seven had organized the triple date.

"I think they're at some dumb seaside restaurant." Reyna answered. "Seriously, why can't they just set up some tables on the deck and change to boat mode? That would be a real seaside treat."

I scoffed and she laughed warmly. I' never seen her so relaxed and at ease like this at Camp Jupiter; only on the Argo was there a promising chance that Reyna would smile. She leaned over and plucked a jellybean from the jar that we'd placed on the end table that was in between our beds. There were two drawers; one for my clothes and one for Reyna's clothes. Even then, everything was jumbled and unorganized; my clothes such as shirts and socks ended up in her drawer and her clothes (namely her bright, sparkly-purple bra) had ended up in my drawer. I was a disaster, just as we liked it.

"You two having a little party in here that you didn't invite me?" Leo poked his head through the door, scaring us half to death. He pretended to look offended, but he was failing miserably.

"Shut up, Repair Boy!" I snarled as he cracked up.

"You should've seen the looks on your face-wait. How do you know my nickname?" Leo was hit with a bout of realization that I was in a bronze jar when he was dubbed a 'Repair Boy.'

"I know stuff." I snickered when I saw the startled look that was plastered all over his face. Reyna tried to suppress a chuckle, but failed just as miserably as when Leo tried to look insulted.

"Wanna go stalk the couples in invisible mode?" Leo asked evilly and rubbed his hands together in a villain-like way.

"This ship has an invisible mode?" I asked quizzically.

"I actually just finished installing it." Leo boasted his oily hands and face for all to see. "So are we going to stalk some friends or not?"

"I'm not the stalking type." I snorted and collapsed back onto the bed.

"Say's the boy who 'knows stuff.'" I heard Leo mutter, but I didn't point that out.

"I'm with Corpse Breath." Reyna added.

"Hey!" I snapped indignantly.

"I was just joking…" Reyna's voice trailed off as Festus began to creak and squeak over the intercom.

"Dang it!" Leo cursed. "My enchiladas are burning!" Then he raced up the stairs and down the hallway. Reyna and I couldn't help but laugh. It was just like Leo to get worked up over burnt food, but then again Percy would've had a heart attack if his blue cupcakes were burnt.

"Let's go check on him." I sighed and stretched.

"I'll get the fire extinguisher just in case." Reyna replied and trudged off. I stood up and stalked down the hallway in the direction Leo went. I plodded up the stairs and onto the deck, where Leo was furiously waving a handkerchief at a burning microwave that was on the main console. The handkerchief caught on fire and sent flames racing up and down Leo's arms._ Since when was there a microwave on the console?_ I thought, but was snapped out of my daydreams by Leo's bout of cursing.

"Dammit! Get...the hell…off!" He hissed and tried to extinguish the flames by snuffing them out with his hand. Leo didn't realize his hand had caught fire, so when he scratched his head…yeah you get the idea.

"FIRE DEPARTMENT!" I called to Reyna. She needed to get up here with the fire extinguisher pronto, or else the entire deck would catch fire.

"Coming!" Reyna shouted and scaled the stairs in two quick leaps with the fire extinguisher in her arms. She ran to Leo and the two disappeared in a cloud of foamy bubbles. I groaned and raced into the ten-foot-high wall of froth. I grabbed the two discombobulated demigods by the collars of their shirts and dragged them out of the foam. Leo had a Santa Claus beard and Reyna's braid was decorated with a layer of bubbles.

Both shook their head rapidly and the bubbles receded. All of a sudden they heard a whirring and creaking coming from inside the wall of white fluffiness. "OH NO! FESTUS IS DROWNING IN BUBBLES! I'LL RESCUE YOU, BUDDY!" he cried and like an idiot (which he was), he leapt into the suds. After a while, the fizzes cleared to reveal Leo clutching Festus the figurehead as if his life depended on it.

"It's okay, buddy. Daddy Leo's here." He crooned and stroked Festus' nose.

"You'd make a terrible father." I commented, but Leo ignored me. Festus squeaked and creaked some more.

"What do you mean a huge horde of monsters is heading towards the seaside restaurant that our friends are eating at and that they could possibly capture them and sacrifice them?" Leo said it all without taking a breath.

"The dragon is right." We turned to Reyna, who was pointing to the horizon. A huge black cloud rolled over the hills…wait that wasn't a cloud. It was a mass of man-eating, demigod-killing, god-hating monsters that were all bellowing for blood.

"We are so massively screwed. We won't be able to get to them in time." I whimpered.

"Such the eternal optimist." I heard Leo mutter as he smashed some buttons on the console and spun his Wii controllers in small circles. The Argo II veered to the side and charged towards the army.

"ARE YOU INSANE!?" Reyna shrieked as the wind whipped in our faces. She looked at us with wide eyes that were filled with horror. "That's a huge chunk of the giant's army, and we're going to sail right into it!? You Greeks are foolish!"

"Nuh-uh, stupid Roman. We're in invisible mode, remember?" Leo taunted. Reyna's face turned red with rage.

"You little sonofabitch-" she snarled and drew her sword. Just by coincidence, the Argo lurched forward just then and she was sent flying.

"Oops, sorry Reyna." Leo apologized, insincerity dripping from his voice. Reyna untangled herself from the mooring ropes that she'd fallen into and muttered curses under her breath. Lucky for me, I had strapped myself to the mast, using a rope as a seatbelt.

"Wipe that smug look off your face, son of Pluto." Reyna scoffed and blew a loose strand of hair out of her face.

"Um, excuse me? I am the son of Hades, for your information. Did you hit your head when you landed in those ropes? Because you've seem to have forgotten that you're on a _Greek _warship." I hissed.

"Whatever, you're still a little kid."

"I was born in the 1940's, BITCH!" I yelled at her.

Up at the helm Leo set himself on fire and shouted, "SOMEONE CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT BECAUSE REYNA JUST GOT BURNED!"

"But what if I told you that _I'M_ THE FIRE DEPARTMENT!?" Reyna retaliated.

"OOOOOOHHHHHHHH!" we shouted and all of a sudden this was a sass contest 2 vs 1 even though Reyna and I were the two who were competing in the first place.

"Whatever." Leo grumbled and steered the Argo towards the monsters. If the monsters knew we were there, they didn't acknowledge us. They were too busy charging to their destination and shoving each other out of the way. We realized that this was the end of the horde. The question was, where did it start? Leo gunned the engine and the Argo took off. Luckily, Reyna was ready this time and she held tight to the railing as we zipped off.

The mob of monsters seemed to go on forever, just going and going and going. I eventually lost interest and began to fiddle with my makeshift seatbelt absentmindedly even though there were monsters-a-plenty charging under us. I just realized how pale my skin was and how long my fingernails were. All I needed now were some tattoos, black nail polish and lipstick, and some piercings and I'd be the new emo Goth kid. I hoped I didn't look like one now that would ruin my ego.

"Look!" Reyna called over the wind and pointed. I slipped out of my harness and joined her at the railing. There I saw the most beautiful restaurant I'd ever seen. In the fading daylight I saw a small but fancy building nestled at the edge of a sandy seashore. In the rear of the building was a huge outdoor deck where the seats and tables were. Candles were lit at every table and dim blue lights were strung on the web-like patterns of string over the customer's heads. It was, in fact, fancy; all the men were wearing tuxes and all the women were wearing either dresses or skirts.

I couldn't single out any of my friends from all the way up here, but I still knew they were in deep trouble. The monsters were here and about to swarm the tables. Customers got up to leave, and the lucky ones escaped before the horde overwhelmed them. We were too late.

I was jolted out of my thoughts by an earsplitting scream and saw a monster, an empousa, drag a young, black-haired man out of his chair and away from the rest of his friends. Percy.


	2. The Capture

Chapter Two: The Capture

**Percy POV**

It started out as a romantic date. You're at a beautiful seaside restaurant, about to kiss your girlfriend, and BAM; a horde of monsters comes and drags you away in a chokehold while you watch your friends try to fight a battle that is already lost. Jason tried to summon lightning, but a Cyclops smashed him on the head with a club (I was surprised it wasn't a brick) before the electricity could arc down from the storm clouds that were swirling above us. I ship Brason, if you were wondering.

"Stop!" Piper cried out of sheer desperation. She was trying to drag Jason away but monsters crowded her and all had their weapons pointed at the two. The command rolled over the crowd like rising waves in an ocean. The charmspeak had an effect for only a moment, just enough time for my friends to destroy several monsters who were dazed by the convincing command. Before Piper could drag Jason even a few inches, the monsters shook their heads clear and charged once more. I couldn't blame her. Jason was pretty heavy, and I found that out when we were wrestling in the training room on the Argo; I failed miserably at trying to pin Grace down. The Argo.

Where were Nico, Reyna, and Leo? I swore I saw the flickering form of a ship overhead, but I couldn't really tell since I was too busy being captured. Random gunfire from the clouds felled monsters and I remember Leo mentioning something about working on an invisibility mode for the Argo. Even if it wasn't them, help was help and my friends and I needed all the assistance we could get right now.

I couldn't breathe. The monster's claws dug into my neck as it dragged me away. I let out a strangled cry for help, one of many in the life of Percy Jackson. Annabeth was only able to register that I was being hauled off before the monsters swarmed her and obscured her from view.

The problem was that the monsters had had the element of surprise on their side. If we hadn't been jumped, we would've had a better fighting chance. My friends and I had barely had our weapons out before the first wave overcame us. Luckily, all the mortals had fled; muttering about a freak seagull attack. If that's what they saw through the Mist, they must've been some pretty vicious seagulls.

"You're ours, now Perseus Jackson!" the monster, an empousa I think, cackled as she yanked me away from the battle. I wanted to help my friends fight; it would've looked awesome. A black-haired surfer dude in a tuxedo killing all the monsters with a sword like James Bond, except without the British-ness and the gun. I had to store that thought somewhere; it would make a great movie. Sadly I my suit was ripped, revealing my blue T-shirt and jean shorts (jorts, whatever) that I had had underneath and some of the fabric was starting to stain red.

I realized that I hadn't responded with a heroic and sassy comment as all heroes do when they're being threatened. I racked my brain. There were three possible choices to respond with the threat "You're ours, Perseus Jackson"; "You don't say?" "In your dreams!" and "No shiz, Sherlock." I would've said one of those, but it would've helped if I wasn't being strangled.

I squirmed and thrashed in the empousa's grip in attempt to writhe out of her iron grip, but she only dug her claws deeper into my neck. I wailed in agony as the empousa raked her claws across my left cheek. I could feel blood dripping down my neck and back in sticky tickle of crimson; soaking both the black fabric of my tux and the blue fabric of my T-shirt red. I tore the tuxedo off, including the tie, and was thankful for the fact that a) I had underclothes and b) I was wearing sneakers instead of dress shoes.

"Percy!" I heard Annabeth's worried cry, though I had no idea where it was coming from; all of my friends were blocked by monsters and the cacophony they made. I tried to respond, but the empousa clamped her hand over my mouth. Naturally, I bit down. Hard.

"OW! YOU LITTLE TWERP!" she yelped in pain and outrage. She cradled her hand against her chest and gave me a look of hatred as I scrambled to my feet and uncapped Riptide. "BITING IS NOT FAIR!"

"All is fair when Persassy strikes again!" I teased. I would've turned her to powder right then and there, but the mob of monsters shoved me into the heat of the battle. All I had to do was wave my sword around. In the midst of the crowd it was so tightly packed that every time I swung my sword a monster turned to powder. I looked up to see an elephant plowing through enemy ranks.

"Yeah, Frank!" I cheered, though I doubt my Chinese-Canadian friend could hear me through the noise. I tried to make my way to Annabeth, who was on top of one of the tables; slashing at any monster that dared to challenge her with the new drakon-bone sword she'd received. With her hair whipping in the wind and her battle cries, she looked like that one survivor in those zombie movies. Monsters kept shoving me to the side and getting in my way, so it wasn't easy. Pretty soon the mass of monsters hid my girlfriend from view yet another time.

"Dang it." I hissed when I heard an enraged cry overpower the rest of the noise.

"Capture Perseus Jackson! The Earth Mother needs him as a sacrifice, and good riddance because HE'S A BITER! Kill the rest of the measly demigods except for the blonde one!" It was the empousa who nearly shipped me overnight express to Gaea Land that was rallying the enemy troops. I really, really wanted to chop her head off, so in order to get close I had to anger her.

"Aww, that's sweet that I'm the _preferred _sacrifice! You shouldn't have!" I called to my almost captor mockingly. The monsters were ready to pounce. "Eek. You really shouldn't have." I added under my breath. My attackers became confused t my comment about being flattered to be the sacrifice, since they didn't hear my other comment; that would've whipped them into a frenzy rather than confuse them.

"Is dat whut he suppowsed to say?" a Cyclopes grunted in bewilderment and scratched his head. _He's not Tyson, he's not Tyson. _I told myself as I swiftly swung Riptide in a wide arc and the Cyclopes turned to powder, the look of confusion still on his face.

"WHAT!?" the empousa spluttered as I hacked through any monster that challenged me. Little did she know that I was slowly making my way towards where she was standing. "This is madness!" she wailed as I stabbed a hydra in the heart and it turned to dust.

"THIS. IS. SPARTA!" I let out a war cry as I kicked her in the head. Since the sea was only a few yards away, I summoned a huge wave and she got swept far into the ocean. The monsters went silent as they saw the tiny smudge in the water that was their leader flailing in the waves; her fiery hair extinguished to reveal a pale, ugly scalp.

"Wait for it…" I told them, holding up one finger as a signal for them to pause. The empousa splashed around a little more before a huge shark leapt out of the ocean and swallowed her whole. I could almost hear the, _DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN_ of the Jaws theme song playing as I saw the shark's fin disappear below the waves. I turned to the monsters and cackled, "HAHAHAHA! I AM ALL-POWERFUL!" All of the monsters face-palmed in perfect unison. Frank the elephant even had an _"Are you freaking kidding me?" _look on his face, if that was even possible on elephant facial features.

"Sorry I just had to, okay?" I scoffed and the battle resumed as if nothing happened. That's when things started to go downhill. In my moment of glory I had been oblivious to the dracaene creeping up from behind me. I had only realized that she was there after it was too late to react. She threw her net and I tried to dodge, but I moved too slowly and got entangled in the horrible ropes.

"Heeeellllpppp!" I screeched and thrashed in the net. The dracaene hefted the net over one shoulder as if I weighed nothing and slithered away.

"I thought you were all-powerful!" Hazel teased. She'd snuck up on the dracaene by using he Mist to make herself look like a telekine

"Yeah, well sometimes all-powerful people need to help being awesome. Can you get me out?" I hissed. Hazel smiled, which looked weird on a telekine's face. I have to admit, seal-dogs are creepy as hell, and I've seen a lot of strange monsters n' stuff.

"No problem." She growled. Sure to keep out of the dracaene's range of sight, she allowed the Mist to disperse off of her and standing in the place of a telekine was regular old Hazel. She hefted her cavalry sword and swung at the net. I prayed she didn't sever any of my body parts in the process, but I personally prefer freedom over having both legs. I was astonished when Hazel's sword bounced off with a soft and discouraging _clang _of metal against metal.

"It seems to be made of Imperial Gold." Hazel said flatly. "I'm sorry, I can't help you, Percy."

"Can't you just use your freaky gem magnet ability to rip it out of her hands or something?" I pleaded. I was desperate now. If Hazel couldn't free me, I'd be sacrificed. I'm too beautiful to be sacrificed. The look on Hazel's face told me how much she appreciated me calling her powers freaky.

"The net is enchanted with powerful magic. I can't do anything about it. This enchantment prevents it from being controlled _and _from being manipulated by the Mist. We'd need a forge that could heat up to at least six thousand degrees to melt the Imperial Gold, and I doubt that you'd be able to withstand that kind of heat when the net is being heated." Hazel explained. She looked up at me to realize that I was snoozing. She snapped her fingers and I jolted awake.

"Wha?" I gargled. I blinked a few times and a blurry smudge in my vision became a very pissed off-looking Hazel Levesque. "Sorry, but I lost you on the word 'magic.'" I admitted. Hazel scoffed and fanned her face with her hand like she did when she was insulted or embarrassed.

"Anyway, I think I can cut- Hazel was interrupted by a swarm of Stymphalian birds. They buzzed around her like annoying flies; pecking and clawing at her. She stumbled into the crowd with the birds still flying around her and disappeared.

"Well there goes any chance of being rescued." I muttered and the dracaene toted me away from the battle. Pretty soon, after I got comfortable (which was nearly impossible in a metal net), I drifted off into a dreamless sleep.


	3. The Sassy Sacrafice

**A/N) Thanks for reviewing and everything. I've learned a little more but I'm basically a monkey on a computer still. Sorry about misspelling "dracaene" in the last chapter, though. Blame it on auto-correct. Please Review and suggest ideas! P.S. Sorry about the cliffhanger in the last chapter, it was instinct. *evil laugh* *sees that nobody else is laughing* FINE. Just enjoy the damn chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I own none of the PJO characters; I only own Avery O'Hara, Simon Drake, and Ambrosia**

Chapter 3: The Sassy Sacrifice

**Percy POV**

Well that went totally wrong. I woke up and all of a sudden I was in an evil mastermind cave; straight from the movies. Torches that glowed with purple fire lined the rocky walls and the dirt floor crunched under the dracaena's lithering snake feet. I decided to take a risk and speak up.

"Is this the place I'm going to be, you know, sacrificed?" I questioned. The dracaene didn't respond for a long time. She turned a corner and slithered her way through the maze of passageways. Her spear glinted in the purple torchlight and I could clearly see my reflation. I shivered when I realized that I was seeing my reflection in an enemy weapon that may kill me some day.

Finally the dracaene responded. "No." she grunted in a rather manly and reptilian voice "Your blood will be spilled on the Ancient Stones."

"Yeah, you see here's the thing; I don't know what the hell those are. Are the stones some sort of symbolism for this huge sacrificing table or something?" I asked. The dracaene stopped short I was afraid that she was going to skewer me with her spear. I knew any monster who ate a Percy-kabob would immediately die from fabulousness.

Instead of killing me, the dracaena's manly, reptilian voice (I call it a man-tilian type of voice now) seemed amused. "You demigods have Stymphalian birds for brains. The stones are _STONES._" She hissed, but her amused tone had finality to it; this conversation was over.

She walked (slithered, whatever) in silence. I tried to map out all the twists and turns in my head to use when I made me awesome Houdini escape, but quickly lost track of all the rights and lefts we took. The cave system must've been freaking gigantic; tunnels split off into smaller tunnels which split into other tunnels. It was TUNNELCEPTION. **(A/N Inception! Write in the review if you've seen it! (: ) **The place was a labyrinth, but I doubted it was _the _Labyrinth; it didn't switch and change and I didn't see any secret passages or anything, even so I couldn't see anything through this net on top of the fact that it was dark. All I saw was dirt and rock and purple torches. Screw those God damn purple torches.

I was basically _dying _of boredom in the freaking net when the long, narrow tunnels gave way to a grand cavern. Stalagmites hung from the ceiling and stalactites jut from the ground like jagged spires. Water dripped from the stalagmites and pooled on the ground to form little lakes and rivers. I could feel the cold dampness of the cavern as if a wet blanket was draped over me. Even though it was a little past the middle of summer, I shivered. The dracaene stopped and dumped the net, and me, on the floor. I yelped indignantly and crossed my arms, but the metal roped weighed me down and I collapsed.

"I bring him, my Lord." She hissed and flicked her forked tongue in and out. Her mass of snake hair hissed and writhed in anticipation as their master delivered the news.

"I thought Kelli was supposed to bring him!" a voice, low, deep and gruff, growled from the darkness.

"You mean that was the bitch trying to manhandle me!?" I shrieked. Despite the fact that they were undoubtedly ignoring me, I continued to rant, "Listen, I've killed that freaking cheerleader mega-bitch, like, three times already! In the Battle of the Labyrinth _and _the House of Hades. Actually, I didn't kill her; Annabeth and Bob did. It's honestly a very funny story, you see-"

"SILENCE IMBECILE!" the voice bellowed. "You are about to be sacrificed in three days and even though you've just arrived here, you won't. Shut. Up. Now shut your mouth or I'll sew it shut!"

"Harsh." I snorted, but immediately shut my mouth when I received a withering glare from my dracaene captor. The more I thought about getting my mouth sewn shut, the more I shivered. It would be painful as hell, not to mention I wouldn't be able to talk without my lips ripping off.

"Put him in his cell. I've had to handle enough bitchy monsters already, I don't need a bitchy demigod on my hands." The voice ordered.

"You think _I'm_ bitchy!?" I called to the voice as was dragged away in the net. "THANK YOU! I'm flattered!" I hoped he heard me. I let out a cry of irritation as the dracaene poked me through the net with her spear and told me to be quiet.

We traveled down another long set of passageways and I wished that the dracaene would carry me again; she was basically dragging the net across the floor, and that wasn't very comfortable. I wondered who the voice was. A giant, probably, but what if it was someone or something else. I had a feeling that it was, but I couldn't dwell on it for long; I was jolted out of my thoughts by the sound of a cell door unlocking. The squeal of rusted hinges made my ears bleed, and it didn't help that the dracaene had hauled me out of the net and unceremoniously tossed me into the cell.

The door closed before I could recover. I shot to my feet and rammed into the metal door with my shoulder. A stinging pain raced up my arm and I crumbled. I wasn't good at ramming down doors; that was usually Frank's job. I groaned and clutched my shoulder, which was aching like hell. I looked around the room, which was dark. I couldn't see a thing and a small, weak, purple light came from a tiny barred window in the door. Otherwise, there were no possible light sources.

No wonder why I was scared to death when a mysterious voice came from the shadows, "Hello." It was unlike the one in the cavern; it was richer and less ancient-sounding. It seemed almost…familiar. The tone was laid-back and my mind was working overtime to grasp the name of its owner. It was so frustrating to sour your brain for a memory that you knew was there. It was almost as agonizing as when Hera wiped my memory and plopped me down into Camp Jupiter as if she were only checking another thing off her To-Do List: ruin a demigod's life.

"Show yourself!" I demanded. It would've been more comforting if I'd had Riptide with me, but the pen-sword had clattered out of my hand when I was captured and for some reason it hadn't reappeared in my pocket. All of a sudden, a young man emerged from the shadows. He was tall, handsome, and muscular. At first I thought I was looking at my own fabulous reflection, but then I noted the blonde hair, blue eyes, a scar on his lip, and the huge welt on his forehead.

"JASON!?" I spluttered incredulously.

"Why do you look so surprised?" he snorted and crossed his arms.

"You're here. Now. With me. How?" I had a million questions; none of them having an answer, which annoyed me.

"You're a poet and you didn't know it." I gave Jason an irritated look and he began to explain. "I can't tell you all the details since I was knocked out, but when I woke up a voice whose owner was hidden in shadows was yelling at my Cyclopes captors. He yelled at them that they had the wrong blonde. What the hell does that mean?" Jason inquired. I had a sudden clarity moment.

"The empousa that almost dragged me away. She said to 'kill the rest of the measly demigods except the blonde one.' She'd meant Annabeth, so that one boy and one girl would be ready to be sacrificed. Apparently they did, in fact, 'catch the wrong blonde.'" I snickered/

"So basically I'm not supposed to be here." Jason stated to try and sum things up.

"Pretty much." I confirmed.

"Yet I'm here anyway."

"Yup."

"Stuck in a cell with my biggest rival."

"Yeah."

"Great." Jason moaned and leaned against the cell wall.

"Hello, new cellmate." I mocked to rub it in that we'd be stuck here together for three days. Jason moaned again and I laughed. This was going to be fun. Wait, make that two days. I only had two days left to live. Oh God.


	4. The Interrogation

**(A/N) Thanks for reading. It drags a little in the beginning but don't worry, the new characters are coming up soon. Maybe not this chapter, or the next chapter, but soon. Don't forget to review. Enjoy the damn chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO; I only own Avery O'Hara, Simon Drake, and Ambrosia**

Chapter Four: The Interrogation

**Percy POV**

"Classic." I scoffed and wriggled in my seat. My wrists were shackled to the arms of the chair and my feet were chained to the legs. Ropes that constricted me tied my waist to the back. Jason was next to me in a chair identical to mine, chained in the same way. We'd tried everything. Jason had shock himself free, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't break loose. I'd attempted to tip my chair over but apparently the torture seats were nailed to the stone floor. I was becoming bored. Earthborn escorts had dragged us in here, secured us in these chairs ad told us to wait.

"How much longer?" I complained and turned to face Jason. In the electric lighting I could see him better. The bum on his head was worse than I'd thought; it was a swollen, purple knot on the left side of his forehead. It looked excruciatingly painful. Besides that, Jason looked fine. His blonde hair was matted yet clean and his blue eyes were clear. The welt, other than a few minor bruises and scratches, was the only wound that was visible that the moment.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" he questioned. I realized that our gazes had locked for a second too long. Now it was getting awkward.

"Nothing." I replied. That's when the giant burst through the door. He was seething with rage. He took one look at Jason and his anger seemed to grow.

"My minions can never do my dirty work! I ask for the blonde girl and I get…this!" the giant scoffed and I nickered as he gestured to Jason with a disgusted look on his face. The son of Jupiter looked offended.

"You sonofa-" all of a sudden Jason's face went slack. His eye color switched from blue to gold. An eidolon was inside Jason. It took me a moment to realize that I was speaking without me controlling it. I had no idea what I had said, but all I could register was the pain that seared through my head as the eidolon spoke with my vocal cords.

"Thank you for sparing me from a worthless Roman lecture about respect." The giant told the eidolon that was possessing Jason.

"It is my honor." Jason hissed in a very hollow, accented, un-Jason-like way.

"Time for the interrogation. You two are going to dig into these pest's thoughts and give me answers." I giants snorted. I strained against the eidolon, but the parasitic monster was anchored into my body.

"First question. Where is the exact location of Camp Jupiter?" the giant asked.

"The Caldecott Tunnel in California." Jason replied immediately. His forehead was beaded with sweat and I could tell he was trying to resist the eidolon's iron hold on his body and mind.

"Second question. Where is the exact location of Camp Half-Blood?"

"It's non-existent on mortal maps but it is off Long Island Sound." I tell him.

_No! _I screamed in my head. I resisted against the eidolon, but its will overpowered mine.

"Next question. When has your host come closest to death?" the giant inquired. He was writing all of this down on a clipboard; all of Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter's deepest secrets that we were telling him.

"Fighting you in the Wolf House." Jason answered.

"Fighting the _arai _in the Forest of Curses." I added my near-din the death experience to Jason's and all of a sudden I realized who this giant was. Jason fought the giant king in the Wolf House, and the eidolon had said, "Fighting _you _in the Wolf House." This giant was none other than the giant king himself; Porphyrion. The problem was that he didn't sound like the voice in the cavern, and that voice had sounded like a leader's voice. Another giant, maybe? I doubted it. My friends and I had battled almost every giant, or at least met them. Who could the voice possibly be? I wanted to scream or wail; do something at least, but the eidolon didn't allow it.

Porphyrion asked us more deep, top secret questions about the camps and the seven's weaknesses. We told him without hesitation. I felt like a traitor, which I sort-of was, but I reminded myself that this was the eidolon talking, not me.

"Interesting." The giant king mused. "Okay, last question, then we have to get on with the test. Who would your host be most afraid of losing?"

"Piper."

"Annabeth."

We both replied in unison. Porphyrion gave us an evil, toothy grin. I knew why he'd asked that question. He wanted leverage. Annabeth and Pier would be punished or tortured to get us to cooperate, if they weren't dead already. I screamed in my mind for the eidolon to leave, but I was shut up by an invisible force.

"This interrogation is concluded. You may leave the bodies, and I doubt you'll need to possess them in our next interrogation." Porphyrion told the eidolons. I could feel it trying to root itself into my conscience; it didn't want to exit my body.

"Ugh, you eidolons only care about having a permanent host. These two young men are off-limits." Porphyrion grunted and snapped his fingers. I immediately felt the eidolon forced out of my body. I gasped and my head lolled to the side as I caught my breath. Jason was limp in his chair, and when our gazes locked there was a wild look in his eyes.

"What was that for?" I hissed, but instead of sounding defiant, my voice was weak.

"We now have the information we need to destroy the camps and get you two to be more…cooperative. Now all I need is a blood sample from both of you and tomorrow your stay here will become more hellish." Porphyrion snarled wickedly. He produced two syringes from the pocket of his armor. I thrashed in my seat as the giant firmly held my head against the back of the chair and inserted the needle into my neck. He pulled back the plunger and my blood filled the syringe. He did the same to Jason, who showed no less resistance than I had.

"Take them away." Porphyrion ordered the six-armed Earthborn and we were unchained from our seats and dragged back to our cell.

-Ω-

"Dammit, Jackson. We're screwed." Jason piped up after an agonizingly long hour of silence in the small cell. There was only one bed, so we unanimously decided to sleep on the floor. The stones were cold and refused to be warmed up by my body heat and it was still pith-black. I couldn't see Jason entirely, but the purple light that came from the door illuminated his silhouette partially.

"Do you think I don't know that?" I snapped.

"Sorry, but I can't get over the fact that they sampled our blood and called it 'the test.' What could they possibly want it for?" he questioned.

"That's a good point. Now shut up and let me sleep." I growled.


	5. Panic

**(A/N) Hi again. I hope you don't hate me for leaving you in the dark about how the rest of the seven were reacting about Percy and Jason's disappearance, so this chapter will be about what's happening back on the Argo II. FYI there's not going to be any NicoxReyna in this, though it may seem like it. I'm just warning you. Please Review! Enjoy the damn chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the PJO characters; I only own Avery O'Hara, Simon Drake, and Ambrosia. **

Chapter Five: Panic

**Nico POV**

There was mass panic on the Argo. Annabeth, Hazel, and Piper were hysterically crying down in their cabins, and I couldn't block out their cries of misery and grief. It was awful and chaotic; a person couldn't get away from the sound of their wails. Frank was pacing back and forth cross the deck muttering, "I should have saved them. I should have saved them." I walked over to him.

"Listen, it wasn't your fault, man." I tried to reassure him, but he ignored me and continued to pace. Leo was working overtime at the console, trying to track our two missing members down. By the way he was cursing, it didn't sound like he was having any progress. Reyna came over from her spot by the railing.

"I'm sorry, Nico." She said. Our gazes locked and I saw sadness in her obsidian eyes. I wondered why she missed Percy and Jason so much; both had turned her down for other girls, and both had been a part of the scandal that involved firing on her home when it was supposed to be a truce, even if an eidolon had been possessing Leo.

"Why are you apologizing? It was your fault as much as it was Frank's fault; you both are innocent." I tried to sound laid back, but my voice was strained. Losing Percy had hit me hard, and it pained me that I could only watch from the deck while Leo fired the ballistae at the horde. Coach would've loved it.

"Why don't we get some peace and quiet?" She suggested. "I can't stand hearing the girls cry like that." I nodded and looked around. Where could we escape from our friends' suffering? They had to cool down on their own time, and we had to leave them to grieve in peace. I looked up to see the crow's nest was above. My favorite place on the Argo was calling to me. I knew the sound of the wind would overpower all the noise, either that or it would be out of earshot. It was a perfect place to pass the time.

"How about there?" I asked and pointed. She looked up and paled.

"That's very high up, though." Reyna whimpered. I shook my head and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I've been up there a million times and it's totally safe." I reassured her.

"As long as the girls' crying is out of range its fine, I guess." She gulped and followed me to the base of the mast. I climbed up the rigging with Reyna in tow. She kept shooting nervous looks below her and I could feel her trembling as we ascended.

"You're afraid of heights." I noted. She looked up and nodded. Her skin was pale and her eyes were wide and frightened. I knew that everyone had fears, even the praetor of Camp Jupiter, and I had sympathy for her. My worst fear was coming out to Percy, and I knew now that the time where I really knew I was going to do it had passed, there wouldn't be another chance in a long, long time.

When we reached the crow's nest, I was surprised how much the temperature had dropped. Between the fact that the Argo was hovering hundreds of feet in the air and it was the middle of the night, it was no coincidence that the air up here was so damn cold. I was lucky for my aviator's jacket, but Reyna was shivering. She refused my jacket when I offered it to her, claiming she'd only feel bad that I was cold.

We sat in sweet silence for a while. Thankfully we were out of range of the girl's cries and Leo's cursing, but there was still a noticeable gloom that had settled over the place. Even though it was the middle of the night, everyone was wide awake. However it wasn't an "I can't sleep I'll have demigod dreams" kind of wide awake, it was more of a, "I'll try to forget them but they're all I think about" wide awake. No one was laughing or smiling. The lanterns that Leo had installed to light up the deck were off, even though Frank was still pacing in the dark.

I turned to Reyna, who seemed to have forgotten the cold. She was more concentrated on not looking down.

"Don't worry, you don't want to see what's down there anyway." I sighed. She looked at me and frowned.

"You must feel horrible. You lost two of your friends." She sniffed.

"Yeah, it's like that." I replied. _My two friends; the one who knows my secret and the other whom my secret is about. _I added silently. The conversation ended and we plunged back into silence once more. That's how the night went; Reyna would try to start a conversation and I'd reply curtly. Then quiet would follow. I didn't really mind. It gave me time to think. When we began to grow tired, I helped Reyna down from the crow's nest and together we walked to our room.

Not bothering to change, I simply shed my shirt and shoes and collapsed into bed. The girls' wails had faded to the occasional sob, and even then I could not sleep. Reyna was snoring quietly in her bed, but I was staring up at the ceiling; at the lantern that hung from it that swayed with the rocking of the flying warship. Pretty soon, I was lost in memories.

I thought about all the times Jason had stood up for me after we'd shadow traveled back from our visit with Cupid/ Eros. He really did care about how I felt. Who I had deemed an annoyance trying to pair me up with a guy who wasn't even gay had actually been set on making my life less miserable.

And Percy. The first time I saw Percy fight, he was immediately my hero. The first demigod I'd seen in action. He'd saved me and my sister's lives. Then I began to fall for him. Hard. After he told me Bianca died, I had no idea how to think. He genuinely looked ashamed that he'd let my sister sacrifice herself for the good of the world, but then again I was so angry that the only one who even had a hint about how I felt was gone.

I'd fled away from my feelings and locked them away, hoping that they'd never resurface again. That's how I'd been living most of my life. I remembered Cupid's words: _You have to stop hiding. _I realized that this was true. I couldn't stow away my feelings anymore. I looked up at the full moon, and hoped that somewhere, wherever they were, Jason and Percy would be gazing at the same moon, trying to find their way home.


	6. The Second Day

**(A/N) I am just warning you. Things are about to get deep. Porphyrion wasn't lying when he said the second day would be more hellish. Prepare yourselves, because it's about to get real. It'll get so real that this chapter is going to be one of the longer ones. Enjoy the damn chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the PJO characters; I only own Avery O'Hara, Simon Drake, and Ambrosia. **

Chapter Six: The Second Day

**Jason POV**

I cannot tell you how much I despised the first night as cellmates with the "almighty" Perseus Jackson. He refused to talk at all, even when I suggested devising an escape plan. He responded only in curt replies, most of them being, "No." When I tried to be optimistic about this entire situation, he told me to shut up. He may have been a year older than me, but he still had no authority whatsoever.

"Can't you at least talk to me?" I asked.

"I'm trying to sleep." Percy replied angrily.

"Well _I'm _getting bored." I snapped.

"Go and sleep in the bed, then. You can pleasure yourself with all the lice that'll crawl onto your scalp and lay eggs in your hair; you'll be too busy scratching to bother me." He grumbled. I gave him a withering glare, though I doubt he could see me in the dark.

The thing was that it was impossible to seep, and I didn't even have the slightest idea how Percy was snoring away. The floor and the air was freezing and my breath came out in puffs of steam. The stone floor was also hard, and there wasn't a pillow in sight, aside from the dusty, tattered, lice-infested one on the bed. The mattress looked so welcoming, though I knew I'd have a thousand tiny insects crawling on my scalp if I lay down. It made me itchy just thinking about it. Percy's droning snores and disgusting drooling didn't help, either.

I lay on my back and stared at the ceiling, which was also made of stone. Cracks riddled and snaked along the surface, but I doubt that was because the ceiling was weakened. It looked pretty solid, and if I tried to ram through there I'd certainly wind up with a broken bone or two.

I sighed and worried how my friends were back on the Argo, if they even were on the Argo and not dead. Even if they did survive they probably thought we were dead. It was horribly depressing. I needed another thought to keep my mind off of the sheer hopelessness of things. My attention returned to the ceiling again and I imagined that instead it was a night sky, and the sleeping form of Percy was actually Piper lying next to me. The cold floor was actually the swaying grass of the hills in Camp Jupiter and the light that came from the window was actually coming from New Rome. With that pleasant thought in mind, I drifted off into a dreamless slumber.

-Ω-

"Dude." I woke up to Percy's voice and a hand prodding me.

"Mmm?" I grunted.

"Why do you have your arms around me?" Percy asked. I opened my eyes to see that I did in fact have my arms around Percy's waist and our chests were touching. It was mortifying, jolting me out of my addled thoughts and I quickly drew away. Percy sat up and crossed his arms. He gave me a look and raised his eyebrows; he wanted an explanation.

"I…uh…err…" I scrambled for words, but Percy cut me off.

"Listen, Jason. I do not ship Jercy the slightest bit, but if you feel like that it's fine-"

"Percico!" I blurted.

"WHAT THE HELL? Did you just announce the ship for me and Nico!?"

"NO!" Damn, Percy was smarter than I thought. "I was just…dreaming of Piper, that's all. I guess I kind of just…"

"Yeah, I get it."

This conversation was getting so awkward I was almost glad when Porphyrion barged in…almost. "I don't get it!" he bellowed and crumbled the papers he had in his fist. He pushed past me and towered over Percy. "You! Why can't I unlock your secrets!? The test came out neutral! How can it be neutral!?" he roared.

Percy held up his hands in surrender. "Listen…err…Lord Porphyrion, I have NO IDEA what you're taking about. Explain first then you can vent and take your anger out on me, though I'd prefer that you'd not." He reasoned. The giant took a deep breath and exhaled for a count of ten.

"The blood test we'd had; it was to determine whether you'd be a sufficient sacrifice for Gaea or not. The results come out either positive or negative. This twerp's results," He gestured to me, "were positive. Your results on the test were neutral, and that isn't supposed to be an option. You defied the test." Porphyrion explained. There was a shocked silence.

"So you're saying that the test malfunctioned?" I asked.

"Maybe, but the test never malfunctions." The giant king replied.

"The test." Percy said suddenly. Porphyrion and I turned to him. His head was bowed so his hair covered is eyes.

"Excuse me?" Porphyrion questioned.

"The test. Didn't. Work on me." Percy growled. There was a pause. "They call it Divergent." **(A/N: This one is for all my fellow Divergent fangirls! XD) **Porphyrion and I exchanged a dumbfounded look.

"Dude, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SMOKING?" I snapped, afraid of what the response would be. All of a sudden two people crashed through the ceiling. One was a girl with sort, blonde hair and the other was a buff dude with brown hair and…was that chocolate cake smeared on his hands? Both were covered in tattoos.

"Excuse me, but is this the Erudite headquarters?" the girl asked Porphyrion. Too stunned to speak, the giant could only shake his head.

"Dammit, wrong fanfiction!" the guy hissed and the two argued for a few minutes before disappearing through the hole they made in the ceiling. There was silence for a few moments, until I piped up.

"What…was…that?" I spluttered. Porphyrion and I turned to Percy, who shrugged.

"I dunno it just came to mind. I think Divergent was a book Annabeth was reading. She kept talking about tests and serums and the end of Allegiant n' stuff, but I admit that I wasn't really listening." Percy admitted. "Though the cake on that guy's hands looked awesome, though. Can we eat? I'm starving."

"But what about the two people that…" I was speechless and I kept looking up at the hole. I couldn't escape when Porphyrion was right behind me and I doubt they'll keep us in this cell. Besides, Percy couldn't fly and I doubt I'd be able to carry that big, heavy oaf even if I wanted to, which I didn't.

"This way." Porphyrion ordered as he shook his head clear of that…odd scene. It was unspoken, but we decided that we would never mention that event to anyone else as Porphyrion took some shackles out of the pocket of his armor and chained our hands behind our backs. He gave us a violent shove and we stumbled to the cafeteria.

For a huge, giant's-lair prison, the cafeteria was small. There were only four circular tables with ten chairs at each table. One table occupied every corner of the room. There were metal walls and electric lights that took time to get accustomed to after all night in a dark, dank cell. There were two guards on either side of every exit to the room, and I doubted we'd be able to make it past them, even if we had our swords; there were so many on them including Porphyrion that we'd be overwhelmed just as easily as we'd been when we were ambushed at the restaurant.

"Sit." Porphyrion ordered and gestured to the nearest table. Percy and I sat across from each other and a dozen Cyclopes guards, all with hellhounds on leashes, entered the room and hovered nearby. Man, this place was good. There were no other prisoners in the cafeteria, which made me wonder what happened to them; the giants undoubtedly had more prisoners than us two, but the empty cafeteria suggested otherwise. Porphyrion ordered one of the Earthborn guards to fetch us some food and they left.

All of a sudden, a centaur (one of those who had horns and turned on the gods; nothing like Chiron) galloped into the cafeteria. "Sir!" he said breathlessly and bowed to the giant king. "A message from the twins." He presented a scroll to Porphyrion and the king snatched it out of his hands. He skimmed the papyrus paper and made a low rumbling sound in his throat.

"Ugh, those two always get themselves into trouble!" he snorted. He turned to the guards. "I am counting on you to make sure that these two don't escape. If they are gone when my brother gets here, you will all be sent to Tartarus the hard way." He threatened.

"Yes, Lord." All of the guards replied. They looked terrified and all stared at Porphyrion's back as he left the cafeteria. I was just as scared as they were, except for a different reason. Who was this brother of Porphyrion's? I knew it wouldn't be pleasant for Percy and me when he got here. I was jolted out of my thoughts when the Earthborn came back with two unholy trays of giant prison food. He dropped them in front of us and bared his teeth, walking back to his post.

There were three foods on the metal tray. One was a glob of some sort and the color of crap. When I asked what it was, since I was sure it was, in fact, crap, one of the guards replied with, "Mashed potatoes." There were also some rotting apples. They smelled sickly sweet and there was no mold on them, but they were basically brown. Gross. For the main course there was a piece of meat that looked like it hadn't been cleansed yet; it was as if they'd ripped a chunk out of a cow and given it to us fresh. Do you know how many sicknesses this could give you? There was still blood on it and all the sides were uneven and shredded.

I forced myself to eat this awful stuff. I tried to pinch my nose, but it didn't help. This was more like torture than like eating breakfast. Wait. Meat for breakfast? That made me want to hurl even more. Percy on the other hand, was feasting. He snapped up the brown mashed potatoes in a single bite and swallowed each of the apple slices whole. He was done eating by the time I finished my mashed potatoes.

"More?" he asked curiously and I nearly spit out my apples and barfed up my mashed potatoes. How could he possibly want more of this stuff? The guards shook their heads. Percy moaned.

"But I'm still hungry! At least get me a drink." The son of Poseidon complained. One guard left and came back with a glass of the dirtiest water I've ever seen. Even if Percy was able to control the water and get the dirt out of it, I could smell that it was saltwater from my seat across the table. Great; a prison that possesses us to get answers and serves us saltwater instead of fresh water. My friend's eyes widened as the glass was set down in front of him. "On second thought, I think I'll pass." He gagged.

I finally managed to swallow my last chunk of meat. An Earthborn guard who seemed bigger than the others pulled out a walkie-talkie and grunted, "They is done." Almost immediately another giant barged in.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the son of Jupiter and the son of Poseidon themselves." He thundered.

"Polybotes Percy growled in distaste and glared at his old enemy whom he had fought on the Hubbard Glacier. The giant threw back his head and laughed; a loud, thunderous guffaw that shook the room.

"Ah, the hero remembers me! You will pay for my embarrassing defeat." The giant snarled in reply.

"Bring it on." Percy retorted. I wanted to tell him to shut up, but I knew it would only get us both into deeper trouble.

"Very well. Take em' to the Field to get some 'exercise.'" Polybotes ordered the Earthborn. And with that, we were dragged away.


	7. The Stranger In Black

**(A/N) I TOLD YOU IT WAS GOING TO GET REAL. Now, some of the characters I listed that were my own are going to come in and they- yeah I should shut up now. DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW, AND STAY THIRSTY FOR MORE CHAPTERS, MY FANGIRL FRIENDS. Enjoy the damn chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the PJO characters; I only own Avery O'Hara, Simon Drake, and Ambrosia.**

Chapter Seven: The Stranger in Black

**Jason POV**

The Earthborn made no effort to be gentle. They jostled us along, sometimes shoving us to the ground with all six arms and then roughly dragging us back to our feet again. I'd zapped one of the guards who'd pushed me down three times and had just attempted a fourth time. He bellowed in outrage and produced a whip from his belt.

"NO! PLEASE! NO!" I wailed as the Earthborn raised the whip and brought it down across my face. I shrieked in agony and crumbled to the ground. Percy turned around to try and help me up, but another guard threw two punches at my poor friend's face. He stumbled and yelped while clutching his cheek. When he looked up I saw the skin around his eye darkening and swelling. The Earthborn shoved us into a straggling walk and we continued towards the Field, wherever that was.

Polybotes, who had been bringing up the rear, was having a ball. He chuckled whenever we stumbled and vainly tried to suppress laughter every time one of us moaned from the excruciating pain. The lash stung like a thousand bees. Blood seeped into one of my eyes and made my vision distorted and tinged crimson. The welt on my head ached like hell and it burned every time I moved my head. Percy looked no better; he was developing a black eye and there was a horrible bruise on his right cheek. On his other cheek there were claw marks and there were wounds on his neck as well.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of staggering down dimly-lit hallways, we arrived at the base of some steps. They were made of stone and looked rather unwelcoming, but the guards and Polybotes ushered us up. If I thought walking was painful, climbing steps was even more so. Every step was agonizing and bending down to overcome the steepness sent a new wave of pain through my skull.

Percy mumbled something under his breath that I couldn't make out as he climbed in front of me. Apparently, even something undecipherable proved to be insulting to his Earthborn guard, because he thwacked Percy on the back of the head and told him to shut up and keep climbing. I wanted to escape, but I was surrounded by guards on three sides and blocked by a giant on the fourth. My odds weren't so great and even if I didn't get caught, Percy certainly wouldn't be able to register what I was doing in time and the guards would tackle him. They may even punish him for my escape and I didn't want my friend suffering because of me.

The dark stairway began to brighten the more we ascended to the point where it was blinding. I blinked rapidly to accustom my eye to the brightness; after a day and a half underground, my eyes weren't handling the light very well. Finally we emerged into the field. The guards closed and locked a mesh gate topped with razor wire after we stepped out of the tunnels, probably to ensure the fact that we couldn't re-enter the base and somehow escape.

"Welcome to the Field." Polybotes snickered evilly. The scales on his reptilian legs shined in the sunlight and his face was contorted in a wicked grin. I didn't understand why they called it the Field; it was far from that. The ground was cracked, dry, and brittle. Whenever your feet touched the ground a plume of dust rose up and stung your eyes and nose. The sun beat down and in three seconds my shirt was drenched in sweat.

For once I wished I was back in the cell. The cold stones seemed like heaven compared to this hell. The chain-link fences that enclosed the field on four sides baked in the intolerable heat. I accidentally brushed my hand against one and received a burn in return for my ignorance. Razor wire gleamed in the sunlight and barbs bristled on every link on the fence.

It took me a moment to realize that Percy was staring at me in awe. "How did you do that?" he questioned in an astonished tone. He too was drenched in perspiration and beads of sweat dotted his forehead and neck.

"Do what?" I replied in bewilderment.

"Touch the fence." Percy replied. He still looked dumbfounded.

"I got burned because it was so hot. What's so special about that?" I scoffed.

"Listen." Percy told me and all conversation stopped. My hearing sharpened now that nobody was talking. It took me a moment to realize that I was hearing a droning hum coming from the fence. _Damn, stuff just got real. _I thought. The fence was electrified. Percy raised his eyebrows and I shrugged. I was immune to electricity, so the electrified fence wasn't a problem to me, but it was to Percy. There was no possible hope we'd escape together now.

"Get over here." Polybotes grabbed my shoulder and hustled me over to some chains that were drilled into the ground. He shackled both of my ankles and grinned when he saw my shocked expression. They were smarter than I'd thought; without my flying ability, I couldn't get out. Percy and I were doomed. It was over; the giants had already won even though Gaea hadn't risen yet. They'd get some random girl demigod and sacrifice her and Percy. Then they'd undoubtedly torture me for their amusement until I went insane and then, when I was broken, they'd kill me. The guards left and closed the gated behind them, yet I could still hear Polybotes' cackles fading.

-Ω-

Percy sat with me despite the fact that he could retreat under a skimpy tree in the bottom left corner of the Field. I wasn't as nearly as big as the fence, which was as roughly as tall as a house. The tree on the other hand, was small. Its branches were thin and so was its trunk. Its leaves were plenty, though, and it offered heavenly shade. Sadly, my chains didn't stretch that far.

We baked in the sun and choked on the dust that suffocated us whenever the hot, steamy wind blew. This was torture. Percy and I had long since shed our shirts, which were basically soggy with sweat. Gross. We tried to make small talk, but both of us were parched. I tried to concentrate on the humming of the electrically charged fence to take my mind off the heat, but it didn't help. We suffered in the oppressive heat for what seemed like hours.

My head throbbed and my wound stung whenever the hot, unhelpful wind blew grit into it. My throat and lugs were on fire and my mouth was dry and had a permanently salty taste. Percy looked about as good as I felt, yet he sat with me in the middle of the football-field-sized desert-like hell. Trying to devise an escape plan was useless; even if there was no fence or chains, beyond the fence wasteland stretched as far as the eye could see. I wanted to die right now as I felt sunburns pop up all over my body. My skin stung and throbbed as we sat in silence and tried to bear it.

All of a sudden, we heard a voice, "Psst. Hey you!" Both of us whirled around to see a figure in a hooded cloak standing on the other side of the fence. The voice was feminine, yet I had no idea why a girl, or a boy for that matter would be out here.

"Who are you?" I hissed, afraid that the guards would somehow hear me and drag us away. The girl let her hood slide to her shoulders to reveal a set of intelligent green eyes and curly black hair that tumbled over her left shoulder.

"There's no time for introductions." She told us urgently. "I can get you out of here."

"How?" Percy and I asked in unison. I crawled as far as the chains allowed and lay on my stomach facing her. Percy went right up to the stranger, but didn't dare touch the fence. Who knew how many volts he'd be electrocuted with?

"But first you must swear on the Styx that you won't tell anyone I exist, same goes for my friend." She warned.

"Why would you want nobody to know about you? You'd be a hero if you rescued us!" Percy exclaimed in surprise.

"Because you don't know what I know." She told us in a melancholy tone. "Now swear it, or I'll leave you to burn to a crisp in this heat." I was shocked. Who could be heartless enough to leave two suffering people behind when they could've saved them? Apparently this girl. Percy and I exchanged glances and an unspoken understanding passed between us.

"We swear on the Styx." We said in unison. The girl nodded and blew hair out of her face. I had no idea how she was wearing a cloak in this heat, but I didn't care; all I cared about was getting out of here. Abruptly the stranger whistled. The two of us jumped, afraid of what might hear it and raise the alarm, yet no monsters emerged from the tunnels.

A bird that had been circling lazily overhead suddenly dove down and landed in front of me. I scrambled to my feet in astonishment as the bird screeched and spread its wings. Ironically, it was of the same breed as the Roman eagles. I yelped in surprise as the bird morphed into a human, Frank-style.

A young man was standing in the place of the eagle. He had ratty brown hair and glasses. He was one of those slender and lithe heroes rather than the ripped, burly ones. He scowled as if he despised rescuing us, but he grudgingly walked over to my chains chopped them in half with the sword he'd produced from his belt. The blade, I wasn't sure if it was Imperial Gold or Celestial Bronze, chopped through the metal links as if they were made of butter.

The boy turned to the girl, who was still standing behind the fence. She made a shooing/go on motion with her hands and he groaned. Reluctantly, he morphed into a dragon the color of blood. There was no need to ask; we climbed on without hesitation and he spread his wings. He gracefully flew over the fence and allowed the girl to climb in front.

"Brace yourselves." She said curtly, right before I felt the boy's muscles bunching and we launched into the sky so fast that I got whiplash. I could only register the prison getting farther and farther away before I blacked out.


	8. The Daughter of Neptune

**(A/N) So, I managed to captivate you until this point. Man, that's an accomplishment. This book is going to get awesome. If you thought those last chapters were intense, than this is SUPER INTENSE. I say this every time but *sighs and looks bored* don't forget to review. Enjoy the damn chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO; I only own Avery O'Hara, Simon Drake, and Ambrosia.**

Chapter Eight: The Daughter of Poseidon

**Avery POV**

"I think they're dead." My boyfriend, Simon Drake, scoffed and crossed his arms. I punched him in the arm. "Ow." He grumbled.

"Use your head, bird brain. They're breathing." I hissed. Simon rolled his eyes.

"I'm just afraid they're going to start hitting on you, Avery." He told me. "You are pretty hot." He poked me and I swatted his hand away. Simon wasn't normally a downer; he only got that way when I was around men who were single. He pushed his glasses up his nose as they began to slide off. I kissed him; he was adorable in that nerdy kind of way. You'd never know we were dating; he liked science and computers, and I liked sports and the outdoors.

After we broke away, I went to change out of my bathing suit, since we went swimming right before we'd come to check on the two boys we'd rescued. I went into my room and really thought over how I was going to dress, which I never did. I usually grabbed a fistful of clothes and threw them on, not caring about how oddly other people stared. When I'd selected the right clothes, I carried them to the bathroom, where I closed and locked the door. I stripped down and tossed my bathing suit aside, while putting on my dryer clothing, not that I was wet or anything.

I looked in the mirror above my sink and smiled. Staring back at me was a particularly tan girl with curly black hair and green eyes that shone with intelligence. She had straight, pearly-white teeth and a mischievous smile, like a person who had too much caffeine. I'd specifically selected my clothes partially to make my boyfriend happy and partially because of the fact that I didn't know whether the two boys were perverts or not. I wore a blue T-shirt with a collar that didn't scoop too low and my shorts were long enough not be slutty, but short enough to keep it interesting.

I strode out of the only bathroom in our apartment with confidence and by the time I'd reached the living room, the two boys were waking up. The black-haired one who looked oddly like me woke up first on his hospital bed, or as I should call it; the couch. He groaned and rubbed his head, muttering to himself. The blonde one woke up next to him shortly after and he sat up and stretched.

"How long were we out?" the blonde one grunted.

"First, tell me your names so I don't think of you as the blonde one and the black-haired one." I got right to the point, not bothering to answer his question. The boys sat up and rubbed their eyes.

"I'm Percy and this is Jason. And you are?" Percy asked.

"I'm Avery and this is Simon." I responded.

"Nice." Jason said, smiling. I had no idea what that was for, but then I realized that he was looking at my butt. I guess the shorts weren't long enough…or because all guys did that.

I slapped him across the face and snarled, "Perv." Simon defensively put his arm around me and glared at Jason as the blonde rubbed his cheek, muttering apologies under his breath.

"I don't think we should trust them. I can beat the life out of the blonde one if you need me to." He grumbled into my ear.

"They're fine." I assured him. He grunted unhappily in response. All of a sudden, we heard the sound of fighting. We looked up to see that Percy had wrestled Jason to the couch and was now scolding him.

"She has a boyfriend and you have a girlfriend, so stop acting like a perverted retard and keep your eyes to yourself, or else I'll tell Piper." He snapped. A wide-eyed Jason nodded vigorously and Percy let him sit up.

"Sorry about that, my friend is usually isn't that way." Percy apologized and shot Jason a withering glare. Simon and I chuckled when we saw Jason hang his head. Percy raised his eyebrows and prodded his mortified friend.

"I'm sorry." Jason mumbled and his cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. He scuffled his feet on the carpet and refused to meet anyone's gaze. Simon still gave him a distrusting look, but seemed more at ease than he was before.

"So? Who are your godly parents? You must be very powerful if the giants intended to use you as a sacrifice." I asked. Jason held up his hand and sparks danced around his palm.

"I'm the son of Jupiter." He said proudly and snuffed the electricity out by closing his hand into a fist. If he expected Simon and me to drop on our knees and start worshipping him, he was pretty damn wrong. I only shrugged, since I wasn't too surprised. I'd met a Hunter of Diana named Thalia, who was in fact a daughter of Jupiter (Zeus as she'd claimed, but I didn't care), and she tried to persuade me to joining the Hunters, but by then I'd already fallen for Simon and I politely refused.

"And I'm the son of Poseidon." Percy told us courteously. He didn't show off like Jason did, but he shook my hand. I paled and pulled away. I was woozy and I had to steady myself on Simon. How could that be? How was this possible?

"Are you okay?" Simon asked worriedly and glared at the two boys, as if they were the reasons why I didn't feel well. I nodded shakily.

"Wait, you're the son of Neptune?" I questioned queasily. Percy seemed confused and concerned at the same time.

"No, Poseidon. I'm Greek." He replied slowly, stealing a nervous glance at Simon.

_He told me I was the only one. He said I would be his champion. _I thought sourly in my head. My nausea faded and was replaced by fury. My father had lied to me. I looked at the people around me. All of them looked anxious except for Jason, who was too busy making sparks on his hands to pay attention. I stomped over to Percy, who shrank back as I came nose-to-nose with him.

"Listen to me! I hate you, but you're my half-brother and now I'm stuck knowing that I have a sibling for the rest of eternity." And with that, I stormed off. Everyone was shocked even Simon looked bewildered.

"What the hell did you do to make her so upset?" I heard my boyfriend ask Percy. Surprisingly, there was no hostility in his voice. Percy's expression was astonished. I could feel his sea-green gaze boring into my back as I stomped to my room.

"I have a sister?" was all he said in reply.

-Ω-

"No." I hissed and paced back and forth between my bed and the wall. "No, no, no, no, no!" This couldn't be happening to me. Why would Neptune betray me like that? I had lived in his palace all my life and this was the first year I was living on my own. Now it was just going to be a **_CONTEST_** **(A/N: Wink, wink :D) **between the two of us to see who was the better child. I remember the day he promised me like it was yesterday.

_I was small, only five years old. My mother had died in a car crash two years before, then my father came and sort of took me in before I could be handed over to the nearby orphanage. I was in my room that he had constructed just for me in his underwater palace. We were playing reading game with cards that had pictures and words on them. Neptune held up a card with a picture of a tabby on it and the word 'cat' written on the top. _

_"__Cat!" I squeaked and when he smiled I knew I'd gotten it correct. I clapped my little hands that were still thick with baby fat and my father's eyes sparkled. His black hair swayed with the current of the ocean and his tan skin was a rich caramel color. My hair floated round my head in a halo of black and I remembered how much it got into my face. Neptune held up a card with a picture of a Labrador on it and had the word 'dog' written on the top._

_"__Dog!" I exclaimed happily._

_"__Very good! Here's the last one in the deck." Neptune told me warmly and held up a card with a picture of a boy on it and the word 'brother' written on the top._

_"__Bruh-ther." I sounded out each syllable carefully. "What's a brother?" _

_"__A brother is a boy who lives with you. He's your parent's child just like you are." Neptune explained._

_"__Do I have a brother?" I asked. Neptune seemed panicked for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure and shook his head._

_"__No, Avery. You are my only child. You will be my champion when you grow up." He told me and kissed my cheek. "Daddy has some business to take care of. What day is it today?" he asked me. I checked the calendar._

_"__It's August 18__th__." I said._

_"__Wow, he's a late baby." I heard my father mutter as he swam out of my room, but at the time I didn't understand what that meant. I'd always supposed that Amphitrite and he had had another child, since godly children didn't count as actual brothers. Now that the pieces had been put together, I'd realized who he actually was going to visit; my long-lost brother Percy. _


	9. Ambrosia

**(A/N) Well how's that for a plot twist? SPOILER ALERT FOR THE PEOPLE WHO ARE READING THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS SERIES. This is going to be one of the longer chapters, just warning you. Enjoy the damn chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the PJO characters; I only own Avery O'Hara, Simon Drake, and Ambrosia.**

Chapter Nine: Ambrosia

**Again, SPOILER ALERT so don't blame me if the Mortal Instruments are ruined for you. There is a summary of the chapter when it ends, so read that since this chapter is very important and you don't want spoilers. **

**Avery POV**

I staggered out of my room and back to the living room, where the two boys and Simon were having small talk about video games n' stuff.

"I suck at video games." I heard Percy say. "It's because I don't even own an Xbox 360, not to mention an Xbox One."

"C'mon, you can't be _that _bad. Last week told me you were 'beating up so many Italians in this video game.' You must rock at Assassin's Creed." Jason insisted.

"No I'm just really, really bad at Super Mario Bros." Percy admitted. Simon and Jason face-palmed and Percy shrugged. "What can I say? I was honest." I walked in and all eyes went to me. I tensed; I hated being at the center of attention, but I had to make it look like I wasn't eavesdropping on their video game conversation…not that it mattered.

"So?" I asked, sitting on the arms of the couch. "It looks like my boyfriend is warming up to you guys." Simon's face flushed red.

"I AM NOT!" he snapped and shot a glare at the two boys.

"C'mon; you were having a spirited conversation with them about something other than that Mortal Instruments series." I scoffed and tousled his hair.

"You were eavesdropping? That doesn't matter and for the one hundred and fiftieth time this week I am not obsessed with that book series!" he snarled.

"Oh really? You've dressed up as a sexy teen vampire for every Halloween since the City of Bones was published and don't think I'm oblivious to the fact that you had the angelic rune tattooed onto your forearm. _Everyone_ knows you're a knockoff of Simon Lewis from that series! YOU SHIP HIM AND CLARY FOR GOD'S SAKE!" I sneered.

"I am my own person! Jace doesn't deserve Clary!" he shouted.

"Aren't they brother and sister or something?" Percy questioned.

"You're a dead man, Percy." I hissed as Simon whirled on my half–brother. His eyes were filed with fury.

"AND HERE WE HAVE AN EXAMPLE OF WHY YOU SHOULD READ THE ENTIRE SERIES AND NOT BE LAZY AND QUIT BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY BOOKS AND BECAUSE THE BOOKS ARE SO LONG. THAT'S THE REASON WHY READING WAS CREATED, FOR IT TO GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO DO AND NOT WHIP THROUGH THEM WITHOUT ENJOYING IT LIKE THE ROTTEN SOUL YOU ARE. HARRY POTTER WAS SUCCESSFUL AND THERE ARE FREAKING SEVEN OF THEM! And I also doubt that Simon Lewis is a Shifter." He bellowed and gestured wildly to Percy. I hopped off of my perch and threw his jacket off to reveal a _Simon + Clary _T-shirt.

"That is your favorite shirt!" I hissed. "You wear it every day and you wash it by using Febreze!" Simon scowled and put his jacket back on indignantly. I'd forgotten that Percy and Jason were still here and turned to see their shocked faces. I slapped both of them. "What you just saw didn't happen."

"You mean you didn't slap us?" Percy asked in bewilderment. I shot him an icy glare and it dawned on him. "Oh so you mean how Simon is a knockoff of-"

Jason clamped his hand over Percy's mouth and caressed his hair whispering, "SHHHHHHH. It didn't happen, remember?" He let go and Percy gave him an odd look, but Jason was ignoring him; he was too busy examining his bandages. There was gauze his face to cover up the huge cut that looked like a whip lash (I wasn't surprised since I'd rescued him and Percy from the Giants' prison) and the welt, which made him look like a Frankenstein that was still in the process of being built. His arms were wrapped in gauze so that Simon and I didn't have to individually put Band-Aids on every one of his scratches. He had at least twenty Band-Aids on even if there weren't any on his arms. All had SpongeBob on them. Sadly most were stained red, but he was more in awe than anything else.

"Why didn't you just use ambrosia?" he asked. I lunged at him and covered his mouth.

"Don't say the name." I growled. He slapped my hand away and gave me a shocked look.

"Ambr-I mean _that _is a name?" he asked. I nodded and sat down.

"Let me tell you a little about us, since we've only just met. We haven't told you who our godly parents are, well who my godly parent is. Simon is a mortal." I told them.

"Just like how Simon Lewis is a mundane at in the Mortal Instruments series." I heard Percy mutter.

"YOU STILL HAVE TO READ ALL OF THE BOOKS! SIMON IS NOT A MUNDANE ANYMORE! HE WAS A MUNDANE, THEN A VAMIPIRE, THEN A DAYLIGHTER, THEN A SHADOWHUNTER." Simon howled and I thought he was about to jump Percy, but I stepped in between them. After I calmed my boyfriend down and he reluctantly sat down, I continued.

"I think you already know that Percy is my half-brother. I'm the daughter of Poseidon. It's Neptune, really, but I never was sent to Camp Jupiter or trained by Lupa and her wolves, since I lived in our dad's underwater palace." I explained. Percy and Jason were on the edges of their seats, staring at me in awe. Simon just looked bored and embarrassed that I'd revealed his secret obsession about the Mortal Instruments series to complete strangers.

Percy ushered for me to move on and I continued, "My mother…was killed…in a car crash," I got a little chocked up, but I regained my composure, "so Neptune took me in so that I wouldn't be left at the mercy of foster homes for some reason. I grew up there and one day, August Eighteenth to be exact," I saw Percy tense, "he told me that he was going out for a moment, muttering about a late baby. I guess that was the damn day you were born, Percy. I had been living there up until a few weeks ago, when I moved in with Simon."

"You said something about Simon being a-" Percy was cut off when he received a withering glare from Jason.

"I was getting to that part. Moving in together hadn't been planned. I had been on my way to the apartment in which my, our, father had purchased and given me the key to when I saw Simon being chased by some Cyclopes. It turned out that I didn't need to help him. He simply turned into an elephant and skewered them all. I'd helped him and he wound up staying with me, claiming he was a Shifter, one of the only two that are left. They can shift into certain animals. I think that the only animals it doesn't include are extinct animals, monsters and mythological beings, people, and I think rhinos."

"And penguins." Simon added

"Yeah, so anyway we wound up living together. Naturally the Hunters of Diana, Artemis whatever, came and offered me immortality and so on, but I refused, since immortality would suck. You'd watch all your friends die and you'd be alone except for the same freaking girls for the rest of eternity. You get the idea. Then we learned about _him_. We were on our way back from a movie when some hellhounds jumped us. We escaped with major gashes n' stuff, but when we staggered home and plucked a few squares of our lingering _stuff, _they didn't work at all, causing more pain even. We had to heal ourselves the hard way and then my father contacted us, saying that the destruction of the giants and the titans was enough to cause a new power to rise. _Him. He_ was a brother of the giants, not mentioned in Greek myths. _He_ was so shrouded in Mist that _he'd_ only a few years after the first giant war, not after he created _stuff _that healed demigods and gods almost instantaneously." I told them.

"Did he side with the giants or the gods?" Jason asked.

"The giants." I replied gravely. "Even though he was neutral during the titan war, during the giant war he didn't really fight. In exchange for riches, he somehow made all of the gods' _stuff _suddenly lose their healing powers. It even caused them even more pain. The giants' stock never diminished, though, and it worked like a charm despite the fact that the gods and goddesses' _stuff_ wasn't working at all. When the giants were defeated and _he _could've easily been tortured and forced into Tartarus with his brethren, the gods kept him around to replenish their stock of _stuff _and to make it begin to work again. Pretty soon they shrouded _him _in so much Mist that they were positive that he'd sleep forever unless there was another titan war and another giant war. The giant war didn't even have to be won, only started, and thus _he _stirred. _He's _helping the giants once more and the _stuff _has stopped working, a sign that _he _is awake." I finished. There was a shocked silence.

The two boys both began to ask questions at once. Their mouths were running like water and I could only shut them up by slapping them again. "LISTEN." I growled. "Other giant who is not an anti-god, main demigod healing stuff is named after him since he invented it, rose again, stuff stopped working for demigods and gods, and all of us are screwed." I summarized.

Percy and Jason exchanged horrified looks and said in unison, "The voice in the cave was Ambrosia's."

"DON'T SAY HIS NAME, RETARDS! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHY I USED 'STUFF' AND 'HE' TO SUBSTITUTE FOR HIS NAME IN MY HISTORY LESSON!?" I bellowed and they shut up. There was a long silence and I could almost hear their gears turning.

"Why didn't you go to one of the camps? And why don't you want us to tell anyone of your existence?" Jason questioned suddenly. "You would've been safer there, and I'm sure people would want to know who saved us!" Simon and I exchanged worried looks. We had to tell them.

"Listen, Jason. There are only two Shifters in the world for a reason. You think that monsters want to kill children of the Big Three badly? They want to kill Shifters even more so. Since the gift of Shifting is hereditary, they are killing them at a young age so they don't have time to have children, and of course they are wiped out. Simon's entire family was killed, even his cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents because they had the ability to Shift like Simon did. In ancient times, even demigods and mortals even joined the fun.

"They'd hunt Shifters and use their bones and teeth as jewelry and eat their flesh and organs in hopes that they too would be able to shift. It's disgusting and they had no idea that they were slowly hunting the Shifters to extinction. I was afraid that the camps would want to hurt Simon; I wasn't sure whether they abandoned the old ways or not. With me being the daughter of Neptune on top of all that, I didn't think that it would be necessary to go to a camp. Monsters flock to our apartment, but it's better than Simon being killed. If anything happened to him…" My voice trailed off and I hugged my boyfriend tightly and kissed him.

I couldn't imagine him being killed. That would be the end of me. He was the one who kept me together. I glanced down at my arms, which were riddled with self-harm scars. I would've killed myself already if Simon hadn't intervened and told me to stop cutting myself. He was the reason I was alive right now. It was because of him that I had a reason to live. He cradled me in his arms for a few moments and I felt his warmth spread as our lips connected. Percy cleared his throat and we quickly pulled away from each other.

"Listen, it's nothing like that anymore, I promise. We actually have a friend who just so happens to be the other Shifter you were talking about. He is a son of Ares and is now one of the praetors of the twelfth legion. I'm the son of Poseidon and all the campers look up to me. If that's not what acceptance is, I don't know what is." Percy reassured us. I shook my head.

"We have to deal with him while you guys deal with the giants. Maybe we can get the stuff to begin working again, but we have to do it by ourselves." I replied. Besides that, we didn't really want to meet other demigods. Besides Simon, Percy, and Jason, I'd never really met anyone. I was uncomfortable in large groups and I hated following rules. Since I know that Cam Jupiter is literally run on rules, Camp Half-Blood better let me surf and do whatever the hell I want all day or else I don't want in.

"Speaking of _him_, we can help you defeat that bastard! We should go!" Jason exclaimed and attempted to leap to his feet, but he yelped and collapsed back onto the couch.

"Oh no you don't. Your wounds still need to heal." I chided and the two boys groaned.

"Let's do something." Percy moaned and covered his face with his arms, which were bandaged like Jason's.

"We have board games and books." I suggested.

"I'm freaking dyslexic." Percy snapped. "And I always suck at those stupid board games and come in dead last, especially when it comes to Monopoly and the Game of Life. I hate those kind of games."

"Okay, then what do _you_ want to do?" Simon scoffed.

**(A/N) If you were reading the Mortal Instruments and didn't want it spoiled, here's the summary of the chapter. Avery tells Percy and Jason about her life and how she and Simon met. The found out that Simon is just a mortal that can see through the Mist, but he's also one of the only two Shifters left (basically he can turn into animals like Frank, since Frank is the other Shifter, except Simon's life isn't attached to a piece of firewood.) There is a new enemy called Ambrosia. He is a giant who isn't an anti-god. In fact, he invented ambrosia. Sadly that means that whenever Ambrosia is at war, the healing powers of ambrosia stop completely for the opposing force and even causes them even more pain if eaten. Ambrosia (the healing stuff) had stopped working, which means that Ambrosia has awoken from his slumber and has sided with the giants. Avery and Simon refuse Percy's offer to go back to camp with him and Jason, for they are afraid that the campers would hunt down Simon for his Shifting, as they did in the ancient times. Even though Percy and Jason reassure them that the campers wouldn't do that, Avery and Simon aren't that fond of new people and following rules. Percy and Jason want to accompany Simon and Avery on their quest to stop Ambrosia while the others deal with the giants, but they insist that they do not need help and that Percy and Jason are needed to assist the rest of the seven. Besides, the two boys still need to heal since their wounds have been bandaged and cleansed the old-fashioned way since ambrosia isn't working. Now they need to figure out what to do to pass the time. **


	10. To Pass the Time

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the PJO characters; I only own Avery O'Hara, Simon Drake, and Ambrosia.**

Chapter Ten: To Pass the Time…

**Simon POV**

The Percy guy was okay. Since he was technically Avery's brother, he couldn't hit on her. He was polite, too. He always said please and thank you and treated me with respect, like how a wolf respects the dominant male or alpha of the pack. But that blonde demon called Jason was a sonofabitch; he was trouble.

Even though he claimed he had a girlfriend (who was probably just as demonic as Jason was), I still caught him sneaking glances at Avery's _parts _while she told the story of Ambrosia and us, blah, blah, blah, blah. That guy was probably a male stripper and I could perfectly see that blonde naked on a pole, though he'd probably have a six pack and bulging muscles to the point where even straight men would be drooling.

Avery all the while seemed oblivious and actually seemed to be warming up to that idiot despite the fact that we'd caught him staring at her butt right after we introduced ourselves. That guy was perverted to the core. I tried to tolerate him and our eyes locked for a moment and I glared and shook my head. He stopped sneaking peeks at Avery from that point on. He knew that I knew I had my eye on him, yet being the bitch he was, he decided to make it worse, and we'd just met like four hours ago.

Right now Percy was complaining about what we should do. Despite having earned my trust, he could be a bitch if he wanted to. He rejected the books and the board games, though how he could possibly resist my perfect copies of the Mortal Instruments and the Infernal Devices all in hardcover I had no idea. It's not like I'd lend them to just anyone, though. I was getting tired of this kid's whining (I could call him a kid since I was twenty-two, the same age as Avery and five years older than him).

"So what do you want to do?" I scoffed. The black-haired, green-eyed teen grinned at me with a lopsided smile that creeped me out.

"Do you have an Xbox One?" he asked.

"No. I have an Xbox 360, though." I snorted. "It works like a charm; no glitching or freezing. The only downside is that we only have those controllers that plug in. The sloppy drunk that runs the nearby GameStop refuses to add the wireless ones to the products that the store sells, and there is nowhere else you can get video games, not to mention controllers."

"It's fine. As long as the Internet connection isn't cruddy." Percy replied and reclined against the couch. He looked like a mummy with all of the bandages, gauze, and Band-Aids that were on him, but his green eyes still sparkled mischievously. I opened up the cabinet that was supporting our flat-screen TV. We'd be in so much debt right now if Neptune wasn't paying for all of this, and we didn't even have to pay him back. Life like this was awesome, except that this apartment was ransacked every two weeks by monsters.

I turned on the TV with the remote and turned on the Xbox. "Who wants to go first? Only two can go at a time, since the plug-in controllers and all." I announced. Percy shook his head vigorously while Avery was nodding with just as much energy.

"C'mon Percy." I urged and handed a controller to the each of them.

"But I already told you that I suck at video games!" he groaned and looked down at the controller dejectedly.

I leaned in so only Percy could hear me and whispered, "Don't worry, Avery is just as bad." This seemed to make him a little more confident, but it didn't improve his mood, since the son of Poseidon was still scowling. I wondered what it was like to have freaky powers over water n' stuff. All I could do was change into animals. Everyone seemed so amazed by it, meanwhile they could control water and lightning for the gods' sake. I guess it was because I was used to it, meanwhile I goggled over their powers like an idiot just as much as they were awestruck by mine.

"So, what do you want to play?" Avery asked Percy, with a hint of challenge. I knew that there was going to be some sort of contest between the two. It was to see who the better child was, after all.

"I dunno. What do you have?" Percy questioned. He seemed daunted. I wouldn't blame him; after years of being awesome at pure suck when it came to video games, he wouldn't trust me when I tell him that Avery was just as bad as he was. The only reason she volunteered was because she knew she would verse Percy, who may have been worse or equal to her skill. Children of the sea god are more of the outdoorsy type than the video game type; it was like asking a bird watcher to go hunting with you during duck season**.**

"Well I have Halo, Titanfall, and Call of Duty-" I listed as I rifled through the stacks of video games that were next to the Xbox. Percy cut me off.

"Which Call of Duty?" he asked.

"Black Ops II." I replied.

"Thank the gods because COD Ghosts sucked." Jason scoffed and crossed his arms.

"I haven't played it, so I don't care." I hissed at him. I still hated that douchebag for trying to hit on my girl, so I was going to reply to his every comment with something cold to make his life worse than it already was.

"Well I played it when I was over at Lucas' house. He's our next-door neighbor and he had to order the Xbox One off of Amazon since that damn GameStop doesn't sell anything of good use. It was bad, mostly because I sucked at it. The only part I actually was good at was when you get to be Riley." Avery commented.

"Humph; out of everything in Call of Duty Ghosts, you like being the dog." Jason snorted.

"Umm, who wouldn't?" Avery snapped.

"So have you made up your God damn mind or not?" I retorted. "Because I'm getting pins and needles from kneeling for so long."

"Let's just go with Halo 4." Avery suggested.

"I thought we were going to play Black Ops II, though." Percy complained.

"No. I only like online matches and I don't want you getting your butt kicked in public. We'll settle for Halo 4 Multiplayer, where we can just kill each other." Avery explained. Percy nodded but didn't seem all too happy. I slipped the disk into the console and the lading screen came on.

"Get ready to get your butt handed to you…err…what's your last name?" Percy asked.

"O'Hara." Avery replied. "And yours?"

"Jackson."

"Grace."

"SHE WASN'T TALKING TO YOU JASON." Percy shouted.

"LIKE YOU'RE ANY BETTER, JACKSON." Jason retorted.

"BOTH OF YOU SHADDAP OR I'LL DROWN YOU IN THE BATHTUB." Avery's voice rose over the two quarreling sonofabitches and the both boys shut their mouths. They knew better than to upset a daughter of Neptune. To upset any girl was suicide, for that matter.

"Alright, who is first player?" Percy questioned, but Avery already had the first player controller in her hand. Percy sighed and muttered something under his breath that I couldn't make out.

"I call blue Spartan." Avery called dibs before Percy could even open his mouth.

"Fine." Percy grumbled. He scrolled through all the colored Spartans you could be. When he came to the color brown, his lopsided grin plastered his face. "I'll be Crap Spartan. I conquer lands in the name of Crap-nation." There was a pause before all of us began cracking up. Jason had tears streaming down his face as he rolled on the floor clutching his gut. Avery toppled off the arm of the couch and took gulps of air in between fits of laughter. I too was laughing so hard I was crying. Finally we calmed down, but then Percy chuckled to himself; muttering, "Heh. Crap-nation." Then we all broke down into hysterical laughter again.

Finally the match began.

"WHY AM I JUST RANDOMLY DYING!?" Percy bellowed. His fingers moved the joysticks and pressed buttons with seemingly inhuman speed.

"Avery is sniping you." I replied. I'd microwaved Jason and I some popcorn and now we were just enjoying the show. I could get used to him and I at least tolerated him enough to sit down next to him on the couch, while the two gamers were hunched over on the carpet.

"I CAN'T MOVE. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS!? I KEEP DYING." Percy roared. Obscenities upon obscenities flowed from his mouth; some being English and others being in Greek. All were simply rude and vulgar. I liked that.

"Percy." Avery said and nudged her half-brother just as she sniped him again.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!? I CAN'T MOVE STILL." Percy shouted. It was true; character wasn't moving, no matter how much he jerked the joysticks or slammed the buttons.

"Percy!" Avery said, this time more forcefully.

"HOW THE HELL DO YOU-" Percy just continued to rant about how his controller was broken and that it wasn't fair that Avery got the good one.

"PERCY!" Avery screamed.

"WHAT!?" Percy screamed back.

"YOU LOST IT BECAUSE WHILE YOU WERE LAUGHING YOUR CONTROLLER UNPLUGGED, IDIOT!"

"Oh."

Avery grabbed the plug to his controller and hooked it back up to the Xbox. The game just continued and Avery won since Percy could never find her sniping spot. When he did Avery just shot him and he had to respawn and start all over again.

-Ω-

"Mmm…Percy. Truth or Dare?" Avery asked.

"Dare." Percy challenged.

"I dare you…to go into my room and put on some of my clothes. Underwear, bra, and all. Don't forget makeup. You even have to wear a pair of my slutty short shorts." She chucked.

"YOU ARE EVIL." Percy snarled and stormed out of the room. An hour later (we were bored out of our minds as we waited) Percy emerged from the hallway. Not emerged in a graceful way, I mean emerged as in he hobbled over to us.

Lipstick was messily applied to his lips to that he looked like the Joker. He had put blush all over his face so he looked as if he were one of those cartoon characters that became red when they were angry. But I guess that was a plus since it hid his embarrassed redness. He was wearing a too-small V-neck whose cut plowed below his pecks and revealed the clip of one of Avery's hot pink bras; that shirt was probably the sluttiest thing that Avery owned. His shorts undoubtedly cut off his circulation and didn't even cover his butt entirely. Combined with the bandages he still had to wear, Percy looked like a prostitute.

We took one look at him and collapsed on the floor, laughing hysterically. Percy grimaced as we rolled on the floor, tears streaming down our face.

"Can I go change now?" he complained.

"No, no, no. Just let me…" Avery held up her IPhone and snapped a few pictures. I took out my phone and did the same. Luckily Jason didn't have a phone on him, so I didn't think that this was going to get to his friends.

"DON'T YOU DARE LET THAT GO VIRAL." Percy spat.

"I won't make any promises. You can go change now." Avery gasped in between fits of laughter. After Percy had changed and washed all of the makeup off of his face, he returned and flopped on the couch, his face just as red as when he had the blush on.

"Alright. Simon, truth or dare?" he asked, turning to me. His eyes sparkled with a mischievous light. I decided to play it safe; who knew what I would have to do for a son of Poseidon who was out for revenge?

"Truth." I replied.

"Wimp." Avery scoffed and punched my arm lightly. "Be a man like my half-brother here."

"I'm not changing my choice if that's what you're asking." I retorted and crossed my arms.

"Hmm." Percy was deep in thought. I bet he hadn't been prepared for me to say truth. Then it seemed to dawn on him. His lopsided grin spread across his features. I knew that this was going to be embarrassing. "Who in this room do you think is most likely to be a whore?"

"Jason." I said immediately.

"HEY! But I'm not a girl!" Jason cried. He was red in the face and he looked so flustered it was comical.

"Forget your 'Blonde Superman' nickname, I'm going to start calling you MAN-WHORE." Percy cackled and clutched his gut.

"Stop it. It's not funny." Jason grumbled and shot me a cold stare with those icy-blue eyes of his. Whatever friendship we had come to be was completely gone. A voice in the back of my mind nagged that that was too harsh, that I should apologize for stepping over the line. I shut it up. This was truth or dare after all. _More like 'who do you have a crush on' or 'awkward sexual task.' But if we called it by its real name nobody would want to play. _I thought bitterly.

"Alright, calm down. It wasn't _that_ funny. I think I stepped over the line." I admitted. Jason's gaze softened and he seemed to relax a little more. I continued, "If it was supposed to be a girl, even though you're the only one in this room, Avery you would make a really slutty whore."

"I can show you a good time if you want." Avery purred and everyone, even Avery, began to laugh hysterically. I wouldn't admit it, but I enjoyed hanging out with these guys. A part of me wanted them to stay forever. There was enough room in the apartment so they could…I waved that thought away. They needed to get back to their family and friends. They had their lives and we had ours. Our paths had to part some time.

"Okay, Jason. Truth or dare? Or should I say _'who do you have a crush on/ruin your friendship with someone or awkward task.'_" I snickered and that seemed to freak the son of Jupiter out a bit.

"Truth…" He said quickly. I raised my eyebrows and grinned.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" I asked. He gulped and tugged at the corners of his shirt nervously.

"Can I change my choice?" he pleaded. He obviously was getting anxious with my answer.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" I repeated. Jason seemed panicky, but he nodded.

"Okay, I dare you to kiss Percy. On the lips. For ten consecutive seconds." I chuckled. Avery had her hand clamped over her mouth and her eyes darted from me to Percy to Jason.

"YOU ARE EVIL." Percy hissed. The son of Poseidon's eyes were wide. Jason's mouth was agape and he was panting a little bit.

"DO IT. DO IT. DO IT." Avery chanted.

"Don't do it!" Percy pleaded.

"A dare is a dare." Jason said with a shrug and their lips locked. Percy made a choking sound in his throat, but Jason grabbed him to make sure he didn't pull away, or else he'd have to start the countdown all over again.

"Done!" I told them and the two quickly broke away and wiped their tongues and faces to be rid of the other's contamination. Avery raised her eyebrows.

"Admit, you liked it, blondie." She taunted.

"No I didn't!" Jason insisted, his cheeks flaming. He looked away and the rest of us laughed.

"Whatever you say." Percy snorted.

"Alright, SIMON. Truth or dare?" Jason growled, a smile playing on his lips. I decided to give the guy a break and let him see someone else's humiliation for once.

"Truth." I replied. I was not into dares, but I think I had an idea of what Jason was going to ask me.

"Have you ever tried to hit on another girl while you were in a relationship with Avery?" he asked. Percy covered his mouth and desperately tried to contain laughter while Avery raised her eyebrows and quirked her mouth into a half-smirk. I knew she wouldn't be mad at me if I said yes, but it would still be awkward if I did.

"No." I replied simply. Jason and Percy raised their eyebrows. Percy looked between me and Avery and I said, "Yes." Which made them break into laughter. I groaned while Avery pretended to look offended.

"As long as you're still not meeting with this certain someone I'm fine with it." She told me, but her green eyes glittered. I gulped and quickly shook my head. I didn't want to get on the daughter of Poseidon's bad side.

"Alright, who goes next?"


	11. Sorry

I know you were expecting a chapter after the long wait, and I am so sorry for not updating sooner. Please don't kill me, but I'm sorry to say that my computer broke and therefore I won't be able to update. I am writing from my iPad mini and this isn't very comfortable. Until I can get my computer fixed, I won't be updating for a very very long time. I will update as soon as possible when I get my computer fixed, but please stay tuned.

-iwovepizza


	12. The Dream

**(A/N) I'm BAAAACCCKKKK! That little technical problem wasn't going to prevent me from updating! Now that my computer is fixed, here if your LONG AWATED CHAPTER! *dramatic music***

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN PJO**

Chapter Eleven: The Dream

**Percy POV**

_"__Hello? Is this thing on?" The dream started off static-y, like a TV with bad connection. All of a sudden my vision cleared a bit and I was staring at the hazy outline of someone. He had ratty black hair and pale, pale skin, but I couldn't see any details besides the fact that he looked beaten and bloody beyond belief. The figure tapped on the invisible barrier between us as if it were a screen and the connection sharpened to high-def. _

_I was staring at a pitiful-looking Nico di Angelo. His eyes were wilder than when we rescued him from the bronze jar and he was trembling violently. I looked around the room we, technically just Nico, was in; since I knew that I was passed out on Avery and Simon's couch next to Jason. Nico was in a cell of some sort; the walls, floor, and ceiling were made of stone and it was so dark I had to squint to see him properly. Only a soft purple light came somewhere off-screen. It was exactly like the cell Jason and I had been imprisoned in._

_ "__Nico?" surprisingly, I could talk, unlike in most dreams. I still couldn't move, though. I guess that would never change. "Nico, what happened to you?" _

_ "__We tried to find you and Jason." Nico said weakly and our eyes met. His brown eyes were wide with fear and had a sort of broken look to them. What could the Giants have done to my friends that had broken Nico's spirit so badly? _

_ "__Are you guys insane?" I cried. "That was idiotic of you to think that you could break into Giant headquarters with only eight people and get us!" _

_ "__Wouldn't you do that if one of us was captured?" Nico retorted, but his voice was still quiet and strained, as if it hurt to speak. I was silent. In truth that was what I would do. There was a long stretch of quiet when Nico finally spoke again, "Where are you two? The rest of the seven, Reyna, and I cover all of the cell blocks and we've called and called out to you, but you never reply. Are they keeping you somewhere else?"_

_I wanted to tell Nico about Avery and Simon; how they rescued us and how Avery was actually my sister and how Simon is a Shifter like Frank. But I couldn't; I swore on the Styx that I wouldn't tell anyone and I didn't want to find out what the punishment was if I broke my oath. Instead, I replied, "We escaped. We were looking for you; even managed to track down the restaurant again, but you and the others weren't there." An extreme look of guilt clouded Nico's features and I wished I hadn't said anything at all. _

_ "__Percy. I'm…I'm…I'm sorry." He choked._

_ "__Don't be." I replied. "So what are they planning to do to you?" _

_ "__Sacrifice Annabeth and Frank to wake Gaea and just sacrifice the rest of us to make her stronger, but I think that they only want to get rid of us; it has nothing to do with making Gaea more powerful." Nico told me glumly. He was looking at his feet, which were bare and tinged a purple color. I'd forgotten how cold the floors were. At least I'd had socks and shoes; Nico had nothing. All of a sudden the image began to get static-y, like when you see slenderman on that horror video game Slender. The static sparked on and off and eventually it began to engulf my vision. _

_"__He knows!" Nico cried in horror. He looked so terrified I wanted to give him a hug, but A) he'd probably kill me, B) this was a dream and I couldn't move, and C) he was in the Giants' HQ only the gods know how far away. "He knows I've sent you a dream. I lost all my power and I can't send anymore dreams-" Nico's voice was overcome by the sound of static. _

_"__We'll rescue you guys! I promise!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. The static was deafening now. Then everything went dark._

-Ω-

I woke up with a start screaming, "Nico, no!" Jason's sleeping form beside me jerked violently and he sat bolt upright.

"Holy crud! What the heck, man!?" Jason yelled agitatedly and wacked me in the head with his pillow.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I had a dream-" Jason cut me off.

He pointed to the recliner that accompanied the couch in Avery and Simon's living room and exclaimed, "GTFO." I looked at the recliner. It was plush, but it looked less comfortable than the couch. Besides, it would be ice cold, but Jason's expression was suggesting that if I didn't remove myself from the couch he'd personally rip me to shreds and feed me to an eagle. I groaned and lumbered over to the recliner. "Don't forget this." Jason added and threw my pillow at my face. I moaned and rubbed my eyes. I looked at the digital clock. It read 1:30 am. It was way too early to be dealing with problems like this, and Avery and Simon would not be pleased if we woke them up this early in the morning.

"What about a blanket?" I scoffed.

"We were sharing the blanket and since you were the one who had to move I deserve the rights to this." He grunted and rolled onto his other side so that his back was facing me. Great. Stuck on a recliner with no blanket. I had a feeling this was going to be a long night.

"What were you two doing last night? There was a lot of banging and stuff." Simon grunted as he lumbered towards us with a steaming mug of coffee. He was shirtless and wearing sweatpants that were hanging precariously low on his skinny frame. He either didn't know or didn't care; most likely he didn't know because he didn't have his glasses on. His brown hair was a rumbled mess and doubt his breath smelled very good, but Simon just sipped his coffee without a care in the world. "If Jason gets pregnant it's on you Percy."

"What?" I spluttered.

"Hey don't sweat it, Percy. I wouldn't mind." Jason snorted.

"I hate you." I retorted.

"Alright, settle down. I can't take stuff like this so early in the morning." Simon threatened and we both shut up.

"Hey can I have some coffee?" I asked. Simon raised his eyebrows but didn't object as he shuffled to their tiny kitchen to make me some.

"Does Jason want any?" he called. Jason nodded vigorously and sat up. He stretched and yawned broadly.

"Yes." I called back.

"Black?"

"No."

"Suit yourself." Pretty soon Simon came back and handed us both a cup of delicious coffee. It was hot to the touch, so I took small sips.

"Everyone is having coffee without me?" Avery piped up as she ambled into the living room.

"Only because you like to sleep in." Simon retorted. "I just got back from getting these guys coffee and I'm not going into the kitchen again." Avery scowled and went to go make her own cup of coffee.

"Could you make us breakfast while you're at it? Namely pancakes and bacon?" Jason asked. Avery whirled on him, glaring. Her scowl had somehow become deeper.

"Just because I am the only God damn girl in this house doesn't mean I'm your bitch. I am nobody's bitch and you can make your own damn pancakes." Avery snapped and marched off.

"Besides, she's not the cook. I am. She can make a killer steak, though." Simon explained.

"Fine, then can you make us breakfast?" I pleaded and gave him what my friends like to call 'cute-baby-seal-that-needs-help' eyes.

Simon looked at me and his gaze softened. He sighed. "Fine, but first let me finish my coffee."

"So, how's it going?" Avery asked as we sat down to a meal of bacon, pancakes with syrup, and scrambled eggs. Jason and I scarfed it down; it was so much better than the meal we had at the Giants' headquarters. I had to admit, Simon was a pretty good cook. Almost as good as Nico…oh, gods Nico. The dream.

"Well, I had a dream." I began.

"He woke up screaming Nico's name." Jason added, but he seemed troubled. He kept sneaking odd glances at me.

"Anyway," I continued and glared at Jason, "Nico somehow sent me a dream and he says that he, Reyna, and the rest of the crew on the Argo II had come looking for us with intentions to rescue us. They got captured."

There was a collective gasp. "Wait, the ARGO II?" Avery asked, shocked. "You mean you're _the_ Perseus Jackson and Jason Grace!? I have to admit I thought you were wannabe punks." Simon had a look of utter shock and wonder.

"I've always wanted to play Mythomagic with the actual Frank Zhang and Nico di Angelo." He mused. We all stared at him. "What?" Then Avery and Simon both began to ask questions at once.

"You actually survived Tartarus?"

"How did you free Thantos?"

"Are the two camps still at war?"

"How many hit points do you have?"

"Wait. Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up. TIME. OUT." I yelled over the chaos. The two quieted. "We have a real, actual problem. I'll tell you everything but we have to rescue my friends first, though I am not sure how many hit points I have."

Avery shot out of her seat. "We could defeat _him _while you guys rescue your friends!" she exclaimed. "It'll be a win-win situation."

"Alright, scarf down your breakfast. We have planning to do." I announced. After we'd piled the dishwasher high with dirty plates and silverware, we got to work. It was even less serious than Camp Half-Blood's war meeting around the ping pong table; we were in our pajamas and clustered around a small coffee table with the TV broadcasting Spongebob Squarepants in the background.

"Describe the Giants' HQ, if you please." Simon asked and I could tell he was trying to keep a straight face.

_"__WHO LIVES IN A PINEAPPLE UNDER THE SEA?"_

_"__SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS!"_

"Well there are winding tunnels that you can't possibly be able to navigate. You have to bust through the roof, but the problem is that it's underground. I'm not sure of the exact location." I explained. After hours of debating and forming plans and backup plans and the backup plans for the backup plans, Avery finally announced the final

"Since the Giants' HQ is in a magical place hidden by the Mist called the 'Great Desert of Death,' or GDOD (**A/N: Pronounced ****_Gee-dod with a short 'o' sound if you were wondering) _**for short, all monsters can travel to it like how hellhounds can shadow travel, except without the shadows. They just…disappear. Simon will sneak through the main entrance by Shifting into a mouse or rodent of some sort, maybe even a weasel to keep the basilisks away. But with his technologic skills, he will disable the security system and make an alarm go off somewhere away from the cell blocks so that the monsters flock there. I'll be the decoy and let the monsters chase me around so that Percy can go to the cells while Simon tries to track Ambrosia. I don't care if I said his name. Meanwhile Jason will be flying above trying to find his way in from the outside, so that if Percy gets lost he can always track down the cells. Got it?" Avery asked.

"Got it." Everyone else replied and we all began to prepare for battle.

-Ω-

We all gathered in the living room as fast as we could. Riptide had appeared back in my pocket, its magic had probably been disabled by the prison's wards, and I was twirling the ballpoint pen in my hand nervously. I had shed all of the bandages and the wounds were all healed up aside from the large wounds that had to be stitched up. Jason looked freaky; a long row of stitches stretched across his face and with his grim expression he looked like a serial killer.

I had borrowed an extra set of too-big armor from Simon, but armor was armor and I couldn't complain. Jason had refused the other extra set of armor saying that it would weigh him down while he was flying, and using his powers would already make him tired. I also had an assortment of daggers and even a bow and a quiver filled with arrows if it came to long-range combat. Avery and Simon had had a room dedicated to weaponry, and that was certainly paying off. Another magic item, a bronze shield that turned into a chain necklace was safely secured around my neck and I had earplugs just in case any empousa tried to charmspeak me. I was decked out.

Jason on the other hand looked very exposed. He was only wearing his slightly tattered SPQR T-shirt and had replaced his _gladius_ with throwing knives and long daggers. He claimed he could use all of them efficiently, but I knew his strongest point was sword fighting and I had no idea what would happen should he encounter monsters that had not fallen for Avery's distraction. A helmet, the only piece of armor that wouldn't weigh him down, was tucked under one arm.

Avery somehow looked drop–dead gorgeous in her battle gear. She didn't have a helmet and she didn't have a complete set of armor since she had to run from the monsters without being captured. She was wearing strange armor that looked like a cross between actual armor and a bikini. She boasted a breastplate made of overlapping plates and tennis shorts that were both made of Imperial Gold. Her bellybutton was showing and so were most of her long, lithe legs; her shorts didn't even reach her lower thighs. She was also wearing a belt that had an assortment of arsenal on it; from swords, to throwing knives, to guns, to grenades and much more. She produced a ballpoint pen exactly like Riptide and uncapped it. A long, silver trident that had a soft green glow around it sprang into full form. Now that was cool.

Simon was the only one who had a complete set of armor. His helmet covered everything except for his face since it was a classic Roman helmet and his Imperial Gold armor looked really, really heavy. His only weapons were a dagger, a single grenade, and a long Imperial Gold sword. Luckily he could turn into animals if he had to run fast.

We were ready for battle. _I'm coming for you, guys. _I thought, and I wished that my friends could hear me. This battle was not over; the Giants will not win. _We will succeed. I swear it on the Styx_.


	13. Jailbreak

**(A/N) Did you like the cliffhanger? HAHAHAHAHA I KNOW YOU DIDN'T. I WILL BE EVEN MORE TROLLY THAN RICK. Everyone: *gasps***

**Me: I DIDN'T MEAN IT! IT WAS A JOKE! **

**Everyone: :(**

**Me: I've lived a good life.**

**Me: …**

**Me: *gets swarmed by a horde of angry fangirls.***

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN PJO**

Chapter Twelve: Jailbreak

**Jason POV**

"Percy, you little demon, you know I hate that damn song." Simon hissed as Percy began humming the tune to "Talk Dirty to Me." Percy stopped humming immediately; you didn't want to upset the dragon that you were riding on to possibly rescue your friends and save the world. Simon beat his wings in a lulling rhythm as we soared over the white sand beaches and rolling mountains of Greece. It reminded me of riding on Festus with Piper and Leo…when Festus still had a body. I sighed; I missed those good times and there could possibly be no more good times if my friends were used as sacrifices.

"So where exactly are we going?" I ask.

"GDOD." Avery replied solemnly. She was sitting in the front and had her eyes trained on the horizon. I had to admit, he looked beautiful. Her armor glittered in the midday sun and her sea green irises swirled around her pupils like tiny typhoons. Her hair was braided over her shoulder to give her that 'I could win against Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games' sort-of look. No wonder why Simon was head-over-heels for her.

"Yeah that's cool and all, but how are we going to get there? It's a magical place that monsters can teleport to. It's literally called the 'Great Desert of Death.' How are we possibly going to find it?" I scoffed. I knew it was against my optimistic nature to be so negative and pessimistic about this whole situation, but the self-assigned quest was so impossible and hopeless it was almost funny.

"Portal." She replied. Her voice was clipped, so that suggested she didn't want to talk anymore. Percy, who was squished in between Avery and me, squirmed uncomfortably and I got a face-full of greasy black hair.

"Simon's right, you are a demon." I mocked.

"Well I go by the name Satan so if you don't mind…" Percy sassed.

"No, you're not bitch you're _my_ bitch." I joked.

"OMG WE'RE GOING TO GET MARRIED AND HAVE LITTLE BABY JASONS AND MES RUNNING AROUND EVERYWHERE." Percy squealed in sarcastic excitement.

I pretended to look disgusted, which wasn't that hard. "Err…it doesn't work like that."

"WELL THEN I'LL MARRY YOUR SISTER AND WE CAN HAVE LITTLE SEMI-JASONS RUNNING AROUND ALONG WITH MINI-MES."

"She's a Hunter of Artemis. The lieutenant to be exact. No boys. No affairs."

"Such the eternal optimist."

"You don't need to remind me."

"Ahem. Sorry to interrupt your…err…_dedicated _bromance, we're about to go through a portal so hold tight." Avery snorted.

"To what?" I could only manage to ask before Simon dove towards the water.

"ARE YOU INSANE!? I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE CHILDREN OF THE SEA GOD AND SIMON CAN TURN INTO SOMETHING THAT HAS GILLS BUT I CAN'T BREATHE UNDERWATER." Avery didn't respond and all I could register was the mega-bitch slap that the water gave me as we shot under the surface at enormous speeds. Man, I just got my butt handed to me by a freaking ocean. Damn. I couldn't think about that now since, well, I couldn't breathe.

My lungs filled with water and I tried to cough it up, only for my mouth to be filled up with more water. I screamed, but it came out as a high-pitched gurgle. Finally I couldn't take it anymore; I took in a deep breath, but surprisingly air flowed in instead of water. Percy was looking at me, his eyes full of concern. He had put an air bubble around my head, but now I couldn't breathe with all of the water in my system. Percy couldn't perform CPR or take the water out with his sea-spawn powers without losing his grip on Avery's waist and being left behind.

I choked and gasped, trying to get the water out, but I breathed in too much and I was now drowning even though I wasn't technically underwater anymore. I tried to cough, but nothing came out. My lungs burned and I let out a strangled gurgle. After an agonizingly long thirty seconds I finally ran out of air and everything went black.

-Ω-

"C'mon, he's turning blue." I heard a distant voice cry. I felt strong hands pushing up and down on my chest and my lips touched another's as they blew air into my lungs.

"Hold in there." I heard them mutter under their breath as they pumped my chest and gave their air to me, but their voice was but an echo in the back of my mind. I couldn't wake up. I was only semi-conscious and I knew that I could either regain consciousness and live or slip into unconsciousness again and never wake up. I wanted to wake up, but it wasn't my choice. It was my friend's choice…whoever was operating on me. They seemed determined as they worked; they kept their arms steady and their breaths full in order to give me the most air. I noted that their hands were strong and their lips were very, very chapped.

_Up down up down. _

_Air fills my lungs as my lips touch someone else's._

_Up down up down._

_More air._

_Up down up down. _

This went on for an agonizing minute and my stomach twisted. I was fading fast; I couldn't concentrate anymore and I had the desire to just fall asleep. But I knew that if I let unconsciousness get the best of me I would die. My friend's movements became more and more frantic. I was about to go unconscious again when I finally felt all of it come up. I twisted to the side and a huge amount of water flew from my mouth. I opened my eyes, but everything was blurry.

"Jason! Jason! Jason!" With every chant of my name my hearing sharpened and I was able to recognize the voice; Percy.

"Percy." I gurgled as more water came up.

"Jason!" Percy repeated and slapped my back continuously to help me drain everything. Finally the last of it splattered onto the dry, brittle, cracked earth. "Jason, are you okay?"

"Besides the fact that I think he swallowed half the ocean I think he'll be fine." Avery scoffed. She and Simon, who was in human form, were standing a little ways away with round, concerned eyes.

"Still alive." I assured them and gave a thumbs-up.

"Oh, thank the gods." Percy sighed in relief and wiped beads of sweat off of his forehead. "Piper would've killed you if you died."

"Wait a second…"

"Let's just move." Avery hissed and shielded her eyes from the bright sun with her hand. "It's past noon. We should start trekking. This way." Then she was off; not bothering to see I we were following. The hike was grueling. Wind whipped dust into our eyes and nose and the heat caused my lips to peel big time. Percy didn't seem to be doing much better; he staggered alongside me as the oppressive heat beat down on us from above.

"Why didn't you just take the water out of my lungs like you did in that well when we went to Rome?" I whispered to Percy. I had no idea why on Earth I was whispering; there was nothing but wasteland for miles and we didn't see a single soul. Still, even with the heat I shivered. This place had a cold aura to it that clearly stated: _You are not welcome here. _

"The Giants can sense magic. I didn't want to risk being detected before we reach the headquarters." Percy replied after a long stretch of silence. Simon was clearly suffering in the God awful heat with all of his armor on, so he turned into a Komodo dragon and romped next to us. I noted that Komodo dragons have poisonous saliva that kills you even if you evade their claws, so it was best not to piss Simon off.

"Don't worry guys. We only have three more miles to go if I'm correct." Avery called back to us hopefully. All of us groaned.

-Ω-

"There it is." Percy's voice was quivering as the huge, steel, electrified fence of the Field loomed in front of us. I could still hear the buzzing thrum emitting from it as the electrical charge was pumped into each and every one of the chain links. The razor wire gleamed in the late afternoon sun like a bad memory that suddenly emerged from the back of your mind. Through the links I was able to make out the tree, which was still dwarfed by the fence, sitting forgotten in the corner. The chains, which had been abandoned a long time ago, still lay in the center of the Field, dust covered and in pieces.

"Are you ready?" Avery asked. Her green eyes glittered like emeralds. They held a sort of pent up power inside of them, akin to an impending storm on a damp summer evening. I took a deep breath and nodded along with Percy and Simon. Avery shook our hands. "Don't die. If you do die, A) I will never forgive you and B) it was nice working with you." I grinned.

"Here it goes." Simon said with a shiver. He morphed into a dragon and Avery and Percy hopped onto his back. Before Simon took off, the two children of the sea god saluted me. Simon spread his two bat wings that could span a school gymnasium and launched over the fence with a single beat. When they landed inside the Field, alarms immediately began to howl like a crazed wolf. Simon turned into a mouse and snuck under the gate, unlocking it from the inside to allow Avery and Percy to follow. I realized that I had a part to play and I let the wind propel me into the sky. I hovered over what seemed like just wasteland, but I knew that under it was a labyrinth of tunnels.

I flew overhead for hours; searching for a way inside. I was skimming the land so fast I nearly missed the huge hole in the ground. I halted in midair and landed lightly, careful not to make any noise. Cautiously, I peered into the hole. It seemed like a cell was underneath, but I couldn't tell for sure; it was really, really dark. I drew a dagger and lowered myself down into the cold, dank room. I realized to my disbelief that I was in the cell that Percy and I had inhabited. I silently thanked those two people that had busted in through the roof, no matter how random their entrance had been.

The door still was ajar from the time we had left for the cafeteria and never came back. Catlike, I slunk through the open cell door and scanned my surroundings. The alarms were still wailing and there were no monsters in sight. I heard shouting, roaring, and crashing in the hallway to my left, but it was fading as if they were running in the other direction. _I have to rescue my friends. _I thought determinedly.

I raced through the halls, ducking under chains that were hanging from the ceiling and stepping around skeletons that looked both like human and monster bones. I grimaced but kept running. I didn't dare call out my friends' names for fear of being detected, so I scanned every single cell as they whipped by. All of a sudden I heard a scream. It certainly _sounded_ human and very, very familiar. It came from two metal double doors that loomed ahead to my right. I came to a stop in front of the doors and tested the handles. Locked. From the looks of it I needed some sort of key card to gain entrance.

I looked around, but to my dismay there was nothing I could possibly use to open the doors. I tried melting the lock with a high-voltage shock, but it didn't even scorch. I growled in exasperation and slammed into the door with my shoulder. It didn't budge. All of a sudden I saw it; a trident painted on the wall in monster blood. Avery had been here. I quickly gazed around. There must've been something around here that Avery had left. I was so used to seeing them, that it took me a while to take notice of the piles of monster dust. I quickly began sifting through them. It felt wrong in a way; like I was stealing from a grave, but I didn't care as I fished a key card out from one of the piles of golden dust.

Quickly, I dropped my dagger and swiped the card through the key hole. The red light on it turned green and I heard the familiar click of the doors unlocking. I barged through it, not caring if there may be an army of ultimate death waiting for me on the other side. I needed to get to my friends, and fast. I looked up and stopped in my tracks. In the middle of the huge room that I was just granted access to, curled up in a crumbled heap, was Leo. His hair was matted with his own blood and gashes were gauged deep into his flesh. Blood seeped around his rope bonds that were tied too tightly. I might have thought he was dead if it weren't for his ragged breathing.

"Leo!" I hissed and ran over to him. My best friend's head shot up and he winced. Blood gushed from a wound on his cheek and one of his eyes was swollen shut. His lower lips was split and his teeth were stained red.

"Jason?" he whimpered weakly as I knelt at his side.

"Don't worry, buddy. We're going to get you out of here. Just let me-" Before I could finish, Leo's eyes grew wide and he made a strangled sound in his throat.

"No, Jason! You have to go!" he hissed and nudged me away. His movements were feeble and he only made me shift in my place. His round, brown eyes were full of utter pain. But there was something else: desperation.

"But I have to get you out!" I insisted.

"It's too dangerous, you have to go. _Now_."

"I'm not leaving you guys to die." I was surprised how hard my voice was.

"Jason, please!" Leo begged.

"I have to!"

"No, you have to leave! You're in danger-" Leo was desperate.

"I know I'm in danger, but so are you. Just let me cut the ropes-"

"No!"

"Why not!?"

"Because…"

"Because what?"

"Because I'm the bait."

"What are you-" I was cut off when a burning, agonizing pain raced between my shoulder blades. All I could register was the sound of a cruel and crooked laugh, then everything went black.


	14. A Twist in the Tale

**(A/N) Sorry about not publishing both chapters at the same time. I needed to add and proofread this one first. But as you all know, I am so evil. I don't feel at all bad what I'm doing to you guys. It's just the fun of being the author. *rubs hands together like evil villain***

**Mermaid Man from SpongeBob: EEEEEVIIIIIL! **

**Me: Yeah, whatever. *flies into the sunset on a chariot pulled by Tempest, Blackjack, and Arion***

**Percy: HEY GIVE HIM BACK**

**Jason: YOU LITTLE- **

**Hazel: C'MON!**

**Nico: THEY'RE JUST HORSES! WHO MADE YOU SO OBSESSED WITH YOUR HORSES!?**

**Hazel: YOU DID; YOU TOLD US THAT HORSES WERE MEANT TO BE WORSHIPPED**

**Nico: Damn**

**Percy/Jason/Hazel: NOW GIVE US OUR HORSES BACK**

**Me: Lol Nah *Races away with Arion's super speed while flying in a storm cloud thanks to Blackjack and Tempest***

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN PJO**

Chapter Thirteen: A Change in the Tide

**Percy POV**

"Jason?" I called out. "Jason?" I didn't bother to keep my voice down; all of the monsters were following Avery, and Simon had disabled all of the electronic security. I had wandered through the facility blindly; not knowing where the cells were. I tried to retrace my path to the cafeteria, and then hopefully remember and get to the cells. I had no such luck. As soon as I left the cafeteria I became hopelessly and utterly lost. A few times I swear I saw Avery and Simon running; jeering at and taunting the huge horde of monsters that were on their tails. I had wandered around aimlessly; not knowing where to go or what to do, when I finally stumbled over the cell blocks by accident. Wow, what a hero I was (Note the sarcasm.)

I had scanned all of the cells for my friends, but again had no such luck. One time I passed a crack in the wall and later wound up right back by that crack. I'd been going in circles, but there wasn't anywhere else to go. I decided that I needed help finding the crew of the Argo, Nico, and Reyna. The only problem was that there was no help to be found. When I finally managed to stop going in circles, I was able to concentrate. I was in the place I had to be, in the part of the place that I had to be, and I was now making progress.

Now the only question was, where the hell was Jason? He should've been there by now, unless he chickened out, which was very un-Jason-like. Surprisingly, I stumbled across our cell, the door still open. Carefully, I peered inside and of course the light from the hole in the roof gave me a full view of the room. Everything was where it was supposed to be; the bed was pushed against the same wall that it had been before and the sheets were untouched as usual. The hole that the two people had made in the ceiling showed the cloudless blue sky.

Jason must've found it by now and gotten inside. Was he in the process of rescuing my friends and didn't have time to respond to my cries? I used the bed and the jagged edges of the hole to hoist myself up. I scanned the sky. No Jason. He was definitely inside the headquarters. But where exactly? I let myself drop to the ground with a muffled thump.

Silently and cautiously, I stalked down the hallways. Huge, thick chains hung from the ceiling and brushed against me like cold hands. Bones were everywhere. I leaped back as I came face to face with a grinning human skull. It was cracked down the middle and covered in dried blood. Thankfully the blood smelled stale and when I prodded the skull with my foot it disintegrated. Not all of the bones were human, though. The bones of a hellhound paw splayed across my path and the skull of a Cyclopes, with only one socket, seemed to watch me pass. Finally I saw two metal doors ahead.

There was a bunch of monster dust that seemed rather scattered about. Monster dust usually came in neat piles, but not these. It seemed as if someone had sifted through them. But why would anyone do that? All of a sudden I saw a slight twinkle out of the corner of my eye. I turned to see one of Jason's daggers lying on the stone ground. The torchlight cast a purple glow onto it and the Imperial gold blade gleamed. I sucked in a breath and gingerly picked the dagger up in both hands. I turned to the all to see a trident made of monster blood painted hastily on the wall. Avery had been here, which suggested the monster dust. Jason must've been the one to scatter them.

Why would he, though? Monsters stayed dead; Annabeth and I had closed the Doors of Death. Was he just making sure? Or was he looking for spoils of war? I doubted that. I looked down at the dagger in my hands. It didn't look used; it was neither covered in regular blood nor monster blood. Why would Jason drop it, then? I had too many questions and no answers. That's when I realized that one of the doors was ajar; it opened up into a dark room that was way bigger than all of the others.

All of my senses old me it was a trap, but I didn't care. Jason must've been in there. If Jason was in there, the others were probably in there, too. Jason was most likely freeing them. Another part of myself, the more pessimistic part, said that that wasn't the case; that it was something much worse, but I ignored it. I took a deep breath and uncapped Riptide. The Celestial bronze sword sprang into full form without a sound. With Riptide in one hand and Jason's dagger in the other, I crept inside. It was pitch-black, even for the monster headquarters; there weren't even any purple torches. I sucked in a breath. Jason was probably in here along with my other friends. I began to walk forward blindly, the light from the door becoming smaller and smaller. I treaded lightly, but my footsteps still echoed throughout the room, which was as silent as a grave.

All of a sudden my sneaker became soggy. I was stepping in something wet. I recoiled and lifted my foot up. I didn't sense any water here. Then why was my shoe soggy? I bent down and touched my finger into the liquid. It was denser than any water I've ever known. I brought my finger by my nose and inhaled. Immediately a sharp, metallic scent rushed into my nostrils. That could only mean one thing; this was blood. It took all of my will not to scream or panic, but I took a deep breath and wiped my finger on my pants.

The metallic stench was now more noticeable, which suggested that there was a lot more blood than this. I couldn't run away now; someone was in here, and they needed to be rescued. I took another step forward. And another. Now both of my shoes were soggy with blood and it was soaking into my socks and filling my nose with the harsh, metallic tang. I dared to take another step and I stepped on something that was definitely not a stone. There was a yelp and I leapt back. I held Riptide in front of me and the bronzy glow revealed that I'd stepped on a hand. It was a rather mangled hand, but still a hand all the same.

I immediately eliminated Hazel, Jason, Annabeth, Nico, and Frank. This skin was too dark to be Annabeth, Nico, Jason, or Frank's, but it was too light to be Hazel's. I eliminated Piper and Reyna when I saw all of the rough calluses on the palms. That could only leave one person. Leo.

"Leo?" I whispered. My voice echoed throughout the room and I immediately tensed. I moved the light of my blade so that it shone on the son of Hephaestus' face. His eyes, well eye since one of them was swollen shut, went wide. They were so full of pain I wanted to scream, but I calmed myself, for both Leo and my sake.

"Percy?" he asked. He tried to push himself up, but his hands were bound with rope so tightly that he was bleeding. He yelped and collapsed onto his side again.

"Leo, what happened to you?" I asked and easily slashed Leo's bonds apart. I produced a bottle of water from the small backpack that I'd managed to sneak past Avery, Simon, and Jason. I knew that they wouldn't approve; backpacks would slow you down and if monsters got a hold of it, all of your supplies would be gone. I'd brought it anyway. Leo opened his mouth to answer my question, but instead of words coming out, he screamed. He writhed in pain as I drizzled the water over his wounds while controlling it and making it seep in deep and cleanse them.

"Please! Stop! It hurts!" Leo wailed and I immediately capped the bottle. There was only an inch of water left for my own consumption, but I didn't care; Leo had needed it more than I did. With yelps and whimpers, I helped Leo sit up. He sat in my lap and leaned against my chest, breathing hard. His face was contorted with pain and he was trebling so badly that I was vibrating just from him leaning against me.

"Was Jason here?" I questioned. At the mention of Jason's name a tear slid down Leo's cheek. He sniffled and furiously wiped at his nose. "Well, was he?" I repeated. I knew I was being an awful person for prying when it obviously was causing Leo pain, but I needed to know. Riptide glowed and gave me just enough light to read his face.

"He's…gone." Leo's voice cracked.

"What do you mean?" I asked, mostly out of concern than out of curiosity. I stroked Leo's curly brown hair gently as the once sassy, rough-and-tough, hardy guy cried into my shirt. Sobs racked his body and I hugged him close. My shirt began to soak with blood but I didn't care, all I wanted to do was console Leo.

"I…was…the bait." Leo whimpered in between sobs. "I…was meant…to lure…one of you in...So that…so that…he could capture you. I told Jason…to go…but he didn't…listen." Leo ended it with a sorrowful wail. He buried his face into my neck and my skin began to wet with tears. We sat there for a while. I just stroked Leo's back gently as he wept.

Finally I spoke up, "So where is Jason now?" Leo didn't respond for a long, long time. He only bawled even louder and wrapped his arms around my neck, hugging me to the point where I couldn't breathe. I didn't push him. I let him have his moment in the dark. I wondered if any monsters were hiding in the shadows; watching, laughing at how easily we demigods could break, and preparing to pounce on us.

I curled around the bone-thin boy as if to shield him from these imaginary monsters. My eyes darted around and I stroked Leo while gripping Riptide so tightly my knuckles turned white. I dared anyone to challenge me. Nobody would do this to my friend and get away with it. No one, no matter how big or savage they were.

"So." I repeated. "Do you have any idea where he went?" Leo looked up at me with his sad eye that showed pain, suffering, sadness, and most prominent of all; grief.

"I'm sorry, Percy." He sniffed.

"What do you have to be sorry for? That's right, nothing." I replied and snuggled him closer. To my astonishment he broke away.

"I have to be sorry; I couldn't save him."

"What do you mean you couldn't 'save him?'" I questioned. My voice rose in panic. I had a feeling where this was going, and I honestly didn't want my suspicions to be confirmed.

"I'm sorry." Leo's repeated. His voice was barely a whisper. "They…they slowly beat him to death right in front of me. Jason, my best friend that I've ever had in the world, is…gone; he's dead, Percy."


	15. The Confrontation

**A/N) DUN, DUN, DUN. I know I'm a horrible person. I love Jason and all, but I had to kill him. I mean, I know I'm messing with your feels, but how could he walk into a trap and NOT get killed? I should just shut up now. You're probably pissed at me. I admit it: I AM A HORRIBLE PERSON. **

**Disclaimer (Sorry I didn't write this in the last few chapters or so): I DO NOT OWN PJO; I ONLY OWN THE OCs**

Chapter Fourteen: The Confrontation

**Leo POV**

_I gasped in horror as he, THAT GOD DAMN AMBROSIA, stabbed him in between his shoulder blades. Jason immediately blacked out and I could only watch helplessly as the Forgotten One loomed over my friend's crumbled form. Ambrosia waited for my best friend to regain consciousness and he woke up screaming in agony. _

_Ambrosia smiled a wicked smile and punched my friend in the gut. I heard ribs shatter and my friend screamed louder and writhed in pain. He began punching him over and over again, each gruesome punch cracking a new bone or breaking ones that were already broken even more. He cracked one of my Jason's ribs right off and my friend screamed his throat raw. He couldn't move he was in so much pain. The broken-off rip punctured one of his lungs and Jason began to suffocate on his own blood. _

_Ambrosia stamped mercilessly on Jason's legs and they shattered and bent at odd angles. Jason was coughing up blood and screaming. Tears streamed down his face. The Giant broke both of his arms and all of his fingers. He looked up at me and grinned, revealing rows of wickedly sharp teeth. He grabbed Jason and the boy let out a screech so horrible I wanted to claw my ears off. He raised him up as if he weighed nothing and broke his spine over one knee. Just like that. Jason screamed once and the light faded from his eyes. Ambrosia let my friend's broken body drop to the ground. He came over to me, his smile broadening as he watched me sob uncontrollably and curl up. _

_He grabbed my chin and tilted it so that I was looking him straight in the eyes. "That, my friend, is torture." He growled wickedly and let go, walking out of the room as if he hadn't just killed Jason. Later, guards had collected his body and taken it away, his glassy eyes staring blankly at the ceiling, his mouth open in a silent scream. Blood still trickled out of the corners of his mouth, but I knew that he was happy; he would achieve Elysium and be free of his body, free from suffering. All I could feel was the grief as the torches extinguished themselves and plunged me into darkness._

-Ω-

**Avery POV**

I was breathing hard as I forced my legs to keep running. They howled in protest, but I didn't care. I hoped that Percy and Jason were having luck with the jailbreak. I saw Simon running alongside me in the form of a cheetah; all of his armor would've weighed him down if he ran in human form. He managed a smile a cat-ish smile, but he was out of breath and so was I. We couldn't outrun these monsters for much longer. We needed to outwit them for just a long enough time for us to slip away to find Percy and Jason and possibly meet their friends.

Speaking of the monsters there must've been thousands of them, all bellowing for our blood. In the lead were two Cyclopes who had a murderous glint in their one eye. They were armed with hammers and the weapons didn't seem to slow them down as they forged ahead. All types of monsters romped, stomped, and slithered behind them, shouting, bellowing, and calling out war cries.

"Sac-ra-fice! Sac-ra-fice!" they chanted as we played the 'Let's hunt down Avery and Simon and then tear them to pieces' game. I honestly was never playing this game again. All of a sudden Simon began to change. His sleek frame became bulky and his lithe legs became pillar-like. His tan, spotted skin became thick, tough, grey, and leathery. His ears elongated so that they looked like huge fans and his nose grew dangly. His tail became rather short and long tusks poked out from his lips. He grew and grew until he was as tall as the tunnel itself and almost as wide. Simon-elephant trumpeted and turned around. The two Cyclopes got skewered by his tusks, as did many more. He plowed through the ranks, destroying so many monsters I lost count.

"Let's go!" he exclaimed and turned into a human. He and I ran aimlessly, twisting and turning until we had lost count on how many lefts and rights we took. Simon was being slowed by his heavy armor, but he soldiered on. I took out my ballpoint pen, Tsunami, and uncapped it. Discarding the cap, which I knew would reappear in my pocket, I watched as it sprang into a glowing trident. The true weapon of the sea god.

I didn't have any intentions to kill some monsters, it's just that I felt much safer when Tsunami was in my hand. The purple torches whipped past us as we ran. My throat burned, my chest heaved, and my muscles roared in protest as I forced myself into a faster run.

"Stop!" I heard Simon call. I hadn't realized how much he'd lagged behind. It was the armor. I knew he shouldn't have decked himself out; it may cost both of us our lives. "Please. I destroyed just enough monsters in order to walk for a few minutes." I was skeptical, but I didn't object. Both of us were panting and needed a breather. We walked in utter silence; only the sounds of our heavy breathing and the scraping and clanking of Simon's bulky armor could be heard. I was on alert; we could be ambushed at any moment and you could never let your guard down when you've breached the Giants' HQ. All of a sudden I stopped. Simon nearly bumped into me, but he halted too.

"What is it?" he asked curiously. I shushed him and concentrated. I felt a tingling sensation in the back of my neck. That meant one thing; we were near water.

"Follow me." Was all I said and I sprinted in the direction of the water. Simon groaned; he obviously didn't want to run again, but he managed a quick jog. I slowed my pace so that he didn't lose sight of me, but I was more concentrated on the tingling feeling, which was growing more and more intense as we neared the water source. The tunnels twisted and wound, but I kept myself focused on the prickling, which was surprisingly easy despite my ADHD. I rounded a corner and stopped dead. Simon couldn't slow down fast enough and he crashed into me. Both of us went sprawling with the loud clatter of Simon's armor and the sound of my cursing. Yeah, we were about as "stealthy" as water buffalo.

"Well, well, well. It seems that the gang is all here." I looked up and gasped. The tunnels opened up into a huge cavern. Unlit torches that lined the walls automatically lit themselves with a sickening purple glow. The shadows receded and I was staring at the horrible face of Ambrosia. His skin was the color of blueberries and his scaly dragon legs were the same color as the healing product that hailed his name. He grinned, showing two sets of sharp teeth. Unlike other Giants, Ambrosia didn't have dreadlocks. His hair, which was the color of his legs, was indeed shaggy and dropped to his shoulders, but it wasn't braided whatsoever.

He was sitting on a throne made of stone, his height reaching over twenty feet tall. He looked down upon Simon and I, who still lay in a tangled heap at his feet, as if we were ants that he'd like to fry with a magnifying glass. Thankfully, there was no sun in this cavern; only stalagmites and stalactites. Drops of water dripped off of the stalactites that hung from the ceiling **(A/N: Please excuse me if I got the two confused) **and pooled on the floor, making little rivers that snaked across the jagged stone. That was the water I sensed. My senses had led us to our possible doom; two other Giants flanked Ambrosia's throne. One was Polybotes, the anti-Neptune, and one was none other than Porphyrion, the Giant King. Despite the fact that he outranked him, Porphyrion was respectfully silent and snuck looks of pure awe and admiration towards Ambrosia.

"Ambrosia." I said coldly and untangled myself from Simon. I dusted myself off and squared my shoulders. I courageously looked him straight in the eye, despite the fact that I wanted to cower in fear. I didn't though, because Simon was beside me, his brown eyes shining defiantly and his armor gleaming in the purple light. It was because of Simon that I had hope. _But you can't kill them. You need a god's help. _A voice chided in my head. I told it to shut the hell up. I couldn't deal with stuff like this; I needed to be bold. "Where are my comrades and their companions?" I asked. I kept my voice devoid of emotion, but it quivered slightly.

Ambrosia threw back his head and laughed, "Admit it, foolish child of the sea; you fear me and my power!" I knew he wouldn't expect what I was about to say in reply.

"I do not deny it. Everyone fears something, whether it be of monsters or of death. But when we are done here I will be the one you fear." I leveled Tsunami at him. "Now tell me, _Ambrosia_," I said his name in a mocking tone, "where are my friends? Or should I explain what a friend is for you, since you clearly have none?" I heard the other two Giants trying to contain laughter; Ambrosia just got sassed by a "measly" demigod! Ambrosia, on the other hand, did not find my answer very amusing. His blue skin had darkened and he was scowling deeply. I noted that I should choose my wording carefully, or else I would doom us both.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Ambrosia bellowed and everyone silenced. I took a step back. I knew I was looking weak. I knew I was giving him an advantage; showing that I did, in fact, fear him. All of a sudden I felt a hand grasp mine. I looked up to see Simon. He still had a determined look on his face and he gave me a nod of encouragement. I stepped forward and felt bravery course through my system. I was strong. I was brave. I was going to win if it came to a fight.

"I guess I should answer your request, for it will do you more harm than it will do you good." Ambrosia growled.

I was astonished for a moment, "What do you mean?" That's when the guards dragged nine demigods from one of the many tunnels that branched off from the caverns. Of the eight demigods, five were actually putting up a fight. They wriggled, thrashed, and squirmed in their captor's grip, but they had no luck in getting away. I scanned their faces. Most of them I didn't know, but I immediately singled out Percy with his black hair, green eyes, and sturdy frame.

There were only two problems. One was that Percy was among the three demigods who _weren't _fighting; he hung limply in his captor's arms and tears streaked his face. That wasn't very Percy-like, even though I'd only known him for roughly two and a half days. Two was that I didn't see Jason. I panicked and wildly searched the faces over and over again. Jason wasn't there. Had he escaped? I hoped so. The two other people who weren't putting up a fight was a boy who had curly-brown hair but was beaten to the point where even I was cringing. One of his eyes was swollen shut and gashes sliced his skin to ribbons. I didn't blame him for not moving; he must feel like crap. The second was a girl who looked fairly Cherokee. Her brown hair was a mess and her clothes were in tatters. She didn't seem to be in much physical pain, but grief reflected in her eyes, which changed colors like a kaleidoscope.

"Where's Jason?" I yelled. I balled my fists and braced myself for the worst. I knew what was coming, but that didn't mean I would accept it without it being confirmed. At the sound of Jason's name the curly-haired boy and the Cherokee girl wailed in unison. Percy made a whimpering sound and more tears flowed down his face.

"What have you done!?" Simon snarled and drew his sword. His eyes glinted murderously behind the lenses of his glasses. It would've been funny to see a guy with glasses in armor, but this was a life-or-death situation; nothing was very funny. Ambrosia gave a throaty laugh. Nobody laughed along with him. I was becoming even more furious at this Giant's audacity to laugh at me. I would make him regret it, if it was the last thing I did.

"Oh, haven't you heard? The mighty Jason Grace, former praetor of the twelfth legion, one of the mighty seven demigods of the prophecy, the one who toppled Kronos' throne and slew Krios with his bare hands, is as good as dead!" Ambrosia cackled. Simon's sword arm shook and for a moment his look of determination was replaced by a look of utter astonishment and grief, but that only lasted for a second before my boyfriend scowled.

"You're one lying bastard." Simon snarled, which caused some of the demigods to snicker, but they were immediately silenced by their guards, who punched them to get them to shut up. I knew that Simon was trying to convince himself and I also knew that Jason was dead. I'd warmed up to that twistedly perverted guy and now he was gone. I blinked away tears and tried to keep my poker face, but I was failing miserably.

"Oh am I?" Ambrosia asked, false hurt dripping from his voice.

"Prove it. Prove that he's dead and I just might believe you." Simon snarled, but his voice was quivering.

"Alright, instead of beating around the bush I might as well just get to the point. Boys?" All of a sudden two Cyclopes stumbled in from another tunnel holding something that was wrapped in a purple cloth. The demigods gasped and some covered their mouths. Others began to cry silently. The Cyclopes lowered the wrapped-up thing on the ground and removed the cloth. Lying there, with his glassy eyes staring at nothing, was Jason. Blood stained his clothes and trickled out of his mouth. His left leg was bent at an odd angle and his arms and fingers seemed slightly deformed. The most disturbing thing was that he didn't seem to be connected to himself; his upper body seemed a little off from his lower body.

This was Jason's body. This was proof that he was dead; never to be heard from again. When I closed my eyes I pictured his smile and his bright blue eyes shining with life, but this Jason's skin was pale and his eyes were lifeless. You have no idea how desperately I wanted the color to return to his skin, all of his bones to be righted, and the light return to his eyes and the rosiness to his cheeks. He'd sit up and ask why everyone was staring at him and then we'd all kick the Giants' butts while they were still stunned. That wasn't the case, though. I took one more look at him and collapsed onto my knees, crying my eyes out.

_Just one more joke. One more laugh. One more smile. Please. _I thought as I cried silently into my hands. I looked up to see that tears were streaming down Simon's cheeks. No matter how rough and tough he acted, no matter how much he thought he hated Jason for hitting on me and being an all-out perv, he cared for the son of Jupiter, just like everyone else that the charming blonde met. It was like Ambrosia ripped a piece of my heart out and burned it.

The demigods were all crying now. The girl who hadn't been fighting was wailing mournfully as the curly-haired boy tried to console her, but he was crying just as hard as she was. Percy was on his side; his eyes, which were once a lively sea-green, had darkened in color and were dull, devoid of all humor and happiness. At Simon and my house, I observed how they interacted with each other and they were basically brothers. A part of him, no, a part of _everyone_, was now missing.

"You see, demigods? I have the power to control the prophecy, and without Jason Grace there are only six demigods that remain. The world will fall to Gaea. Surrender, daughter of Neptune, and your little Shifter friend, too. Maybe then we'll spare your other comrade." Ambrosia threatened.

"I doubt that." I scoffed, but then Ambrosia dragged Percy, who was still limp, to the center of the room and put a knife to his throat. They were right in front of Jason's dead body and Percy's wide eyes were trained on the pale face of his friend that had once been so very alive. He didn't seem to care that the blade had nicked his skin and blood was tricking down his neck.

"Percy!" One of the demigods, a grey-eyed blonde, screamed. Tears streamed down her face and her hands were clasped in a begging gesture. "You already took Jason! You can't have Percy, too!"

"Oh shut up, Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. Haven't you figured it out yet? These are _the_ Ancient Stones. Two will be sacrificed here for the Earth Mother. Sadly, Mr. Grace's blood hadn't been spilled here, but we'll have to make do with this one's blood." Ambrosia snarled.

"So you're saying that even if we agree to surrender, you'll kill him anyway?" I growled.

"Maybe not. I can always sacrifice Frank Zhang, son of Mars, the second Shifter or Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus. Of course Nico di Angelo, the son of Hades; the Ghost King, Simon Drake, a Shifter like Frank Zhang, or this stupid son of Poseidon," Ambrosia dug the knife in deeper into Percy's neck as he said this, "would be preferred, but Nico is not one of the seven and neither is Simon, nor is Simon a demigod, for that matter. The son of Poseidon would be protected by my Styx oath that you'll undoubtedly make me swear, so that leaves Zhang and Valdez; one of them will have to do. All of the girls, including yourself, Miss Avery O'Hara, are fair game for us. Do we have a deal?" Ambrosia threatened. Percy began to struggle to breathe as the knife dug deeper into his neck. His eyes told us no, but I knew there was another way to win without surrendering.

"No." I said simply. The daughter of Athena, Annabeth, screamed in protest and began to thrash wildly. Ambrosia's face hardened.

"Very well, it seems to you that there is no value in this life. His body will join Mr. Grace's as will yours _Avery O'Hara._" Ambrosia said my name like an insult and began to cut deeper into Percy's neck. My half-brother began to cough up blood.

"I choose another option." I said defiantly. Ambrosia raised his eyebrows and sneered.

"And what would that be?" he retorted. I should be glad that he took the bait since monsters usually never do, but I was only relived about the fact that he slipped away from Percy. He coughed up a little more blood but otherwise he looked fine.

"Fight us." I replied boldly and leveled Tsunami at his throat. "You are a Giant. You count as two people. So it's two versus two. Your companions can take no part in this, it's just you and us. With a weapon or hand-to-hand combat, I really don't care. If we win, you free the seven plus the two others and let us go free without any hassle. We also want Jason's body if you don't mind so we can give him a _proper _funeral. If you win, which by the way is not very likely, you get the demigods, the body, and us; we will go without a fight, that is, unless we either die or surrender. I want everyone in this room, including the demigods, to swear on the Styx."

"We swear on the Styx." Every demigod, including us, monster, and Giant said in the room. A loud blast of thunder rumbled overhead.

"Okay, wise guys. You think you're so tough? Think again." Ambrosia taunted and pulled at a circlet around his wrist. It expanded and elongated into a gigantic silver-tipped spear, decorated with human skulls that were attached by colorful strips of leather. I shivered; that leather looked awfully like human skin. All of a sudden, an uncontrollable rage washed over me like a tidal wave (no pun intended) and I scowled. Simon was beside me, his eyes defiant and determined. If we go down, we go down fighting.

"Alright you oversized pig, let's dance!" I growled as the water began to swirl around me.


	16. The Final Battle

**(A/N) I am so (not) sorry for messing with your feels in the last chapter. BUUUUUTTTTT you still have the fight to look forward to. I know that after I killed Jason and nearly killed Percy that you probably think that it's going to end badly. I don't blame you. Enjoy the damn chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN PJO; I ONLY OWN THE OCs**

Chapter Fifteen: The Final Battle

**Simon POV**

"Boys, please remove yourselves from this chamber, but I would love to see the reactions of the once-powerful seven's, I mean _six's_," Ambrosia emphasized the word six to make everyone feel even shittier, "reactions when their only chance of being saved is wasted on two weak, puny-" He never finished the sentence. A powerful blast of water knocked the Forgotten One off of his feet. Avery had her hands raised and her green eyes glittered with a malice that I had never seen in her before.

"Oh, so you like to play dirty. I can do dirty." Ambrosia cackled and leapt to his feet with speed that didn't make sense; he was certainly far too large, heavy, muscular, and bulky to move that fast. Ambrosia waved his hand and Avery and I were pushed back by an invisible force. I landed flat on my back, but Avery twisted in midair with awe-inspiring agility and landed in a crouched position. Ambrosia laughed and she bared her teeth. Despite the fact that she didn't have any fangs to provoke fear, the gesture was still singled out as hostile and she did look pretty pissed off, which was enough to make a pro wrestler cry for their mommy.

She raised Tsunami and charged. They met in the center of the cavern, clashing spear-on-trident. Tridents were difficult to work with; it was impossible to block with them unless you used the long shaft, but they did triple the damage of a sword if you managed to get a good hit. The demigods, who were still on their knees and in chains, were staring at Avery in awe. Their fight was a horrifying life or death dance; every time one tried to attack, the other sashayed out of the way with jaw-dropping speed.

All of a sudden I realized that Avery couldn't do this alone; I was a part of the fight, too. I felt myself began to change. My eyesight and sense of smell became significantly sharper and my nose and mouth morphed into a hooked bill. My body size shrank and my legs grew scales and my toenails were replaced by long, black talons. My arms sprouted flight feathers and my clothes melted into my skin to be replaced by brown plumage. White feathers sprouted from my face and neck and pretty soon I was a Bald Eagle. You could almost smell the freedom…or at least the musky stench of animal.

I let out a defiant screeched and launched into the air. I swiftly maneuvered around the stalactites that hung in my way. Since the ceiling was rather high up, I soared up to gain just enough altitude I needed and then dove down with talons outstretched. I ripped a huge gash across Ambrosia's face and the Giant howled in anger and tried to swat me away, but I buzzed and darted around his head like an annoying fly and pretty soon he was so frustrated his blue skin had turned a darker shade. He shook his fists and bared his dagger-like teeth, punching the air with alarming speed, right in the exact spot I was. I spiraled down to the ground in a crash-landing and returned to human form.

Cuts and scratches bled slightly and my arms, legs, and abdomen were covered in nasty bruises. I didn't give a shit, though. I got to my feet and watched proudly as Ambrosia glared at me with a look of pure hatred. A steady flow of inchor dripped down his face from three slash marks that ran across his forehead. All of a sudden the Giant began to laugh.

"You cannot hurt me!" he guffawed and the wound closed up and faded into nothing but a slight scar. Avery's skin turned a chalk white, but she didn't seem to be intent on giving up. Ambrosia turned to us and bellowed. Sharp shards of black metal tore through the skin of his shoulders, arms, back, and forehead, as well as his lower lip. **(A/N: For a proper visual, think of Frozen; remember what Elsa's guard snowman did when Hans and his men try to invade the ice palace? That's what Ambrosia looked like. Sorry to interrupt, though.) **

Avery snarled in answer to the Giant, which only made him angrier. It was like a grizzly bear roaring a challenge to a wolf and the wolf and the wolf responding with that badass snarl it can make. The grizzly may be big and strong, but the wolf had a pack and nothing could beat the wolves' deadly teamwork. I prayed to a god, any god that could flash in this cave and be all like: _IMMA KICK YO ASS, _and they'd help us kill Ambrosia. But we had no such luck. Ambrosia, in his full and most powerful form, swatted at us with a clawed hand.

I could only barely dodge and if I'd moved any slower I'd be in pieces. Avery leapt onto the Giant's hand as his claws raked past and began to race up his arm, yelling a battle cry. She raised Tsunami and plunged the trident deep into the Forgotten One's shoulder. That only seemed to make Ambrosia angrier. He swatted Avery off his shoulder as if she were a fairly stubborn piece of lint that wouldn't remove itself from his clothing and my girlfriend went crashing to the ground. She didn't have enough time to react and twist in the air, so she went sprawling. I rushed to her aid. She shakily stood and we watched as Ambrosia plucked Tsunami out of his shoulder like it was a toothpick and flicked it away. I knew it would eventually reappear in Avery's pocket, but that would take a little time; right now Avery was weaponless and we were completely and utterly out of ideas.

Then I saw it. Jason's body had been kicked to the side by Polybotes and Porphyrion to make room for the battle. He looked more broken and unalive as ever. I stifled a sob as I ran over to him and knelt beside his crumbled form. His eyes stared off into nothing and with two fingers I gently closed them. I touched his arm lightly. His skin was cold; lifeless. No blood pumped through his veins anymore. I quickly began to execute my plan as Avery desperately tried to fight Ambrosia one-on-one. I knew everyone was probably wondering why I wasn't fighting with her, but I didn't care; I only had one chance to do this and it might as well be now.

From my armor I produced a locket. Through the glass front there was a swirling maelstrom of white, powdery stuff. This locket had been with my family for generations upon generations and was crafted from Imperial gold and Stygian ice. My mother was the only person to be skeptical about the powers it held, and my Grandfather Phillip had given her the nickname 'the Drake family's sweet little non-believer.' The legend was that the powder inside could summon a god, whether it be a Greek god or capital G God, but it could only be used once and the powder could only be triggered if it was consumed by a god or goddess' child. Of course, my mother claimed it was all a bunch of bullshit. I believed that my mother was right, until one day I woke up as a full-sized elephant and found out I was a Shifter. That was when I began believing. Later that day I'd been attacked, and that occurrence triggered a chain of events that led up to where I was now.

I took a deep breath. It was either now or never. _It may not work if the demigod is dead. _A vice chided in my head.

_Shut up. _I told it. I carefully opened Jason's mouth and let the powder spiral into his throat in a little cloud of white dust. I wished the dust could bring back the dead. Honestly, all I wanted was for Jason to be alive. I used to think it brought back the dead when I was a young child, since the explanation for what it _could_ do had been too complicated for my little brain to process. So I simply thought it could bring back the dead. During a Christmas celebration where all of my family was over at my house, my hamster Elmo had gotten out of his cage and was accidentally stepped on. I almost used the dust to try and revive him, which would've been a waste, but thankfully my family members stopped me. I'd gladly give up my Christmas so that Jason could live to experience another.

Now I was staring the lifeless form of my friend. Not a pet. A friend. Not even a friend who was _supposed_ to die. He was too young. He hadn't been able to get married or have kids. Heck, he never even had sex with his _actual girlfriend. _He hadn't been able to go to college and get a degree and he hadn't been able to get a job or a house. He shouldn't have died. He'd had so much potential, but now he was damned, forever to be in Elysium (because I knew Pluto wouldn't be a little shit about giving Jason anything else.) I thought of him, wandering alone, trying to remember who he was and attempting to have fun in Elysium at the same time. It was an awful thought and I pushed it away.

All of a sudden the cavern roof exploded. An arc of lightning discharged from a whirling funnel cloud and blasted right in between Avery and Ambrosia, knocking them away from each other. Avery landed on her feet, but Ambrosia skidded and bashed his head into his stone throne. Standing in the crater the lightning made was Jupiter, Zeus, whatever. He looked around in bewilderment.

"Why am I here?" he asked. He looked around and his gaze rested on me. I felt a need to bend over Jason's body and shield him; Jupiter would probably want a little alone time with his deceased son, but that couldn't be the case right now. Jupiter's eyebrows raised and I swear I saw his eyes sheen over, but the king of the gods quickly blinked them away. I supposed he wanted an explanation to why I interrupted his activities.

"Lord Jupiter, sir," I said standing up. My voice was more confident than I really felt. "I summoned you. We need your help."

"Puny mortal boy. You can't just summon a god whenever you feel like it." Jupiter scoffed, but his voice seemed rather strained and he didn't pry his eyes from Jason's body. My eyes widened. I hadn't considered the fact that the sky god may refuse to help.

"But sir," I insisted, "Your son is dead. We need-WATCH OUT!" Jupiter could only barely dodge as Ambrosia leapt at him, claws outstretched.

"Surrender!" he bellowed. He turned and swatted at me with unbelievable hustle. The blow caught me on the shoulder and I went crashing into a wall. Pain flared up whenever I moved my head and arms. My collarbone was undoubtedly broken. My locket had skidded off somewhere, but I didn't care that I lost it; I could only make out the slight flicker of hope that was growing inside of me. Jupiter turned to Ambrosia and his eyes widened.

"Forgotten One. You are supposed to be in slumber." He snarled. He held up his hand and lightning flashed. As the light receded I saw the Master Bolt in Jupiter's closed fist.

"I am no longer your slave, Jupiter! I belong to no one and you shouldn't be in this fight!" the Giant retorted.

That was just enough time for me to transform into a lion with a luxurious but tough golden coat and mane. I roared and leapt at Ambrosia, ignoring the horrible pain in my shoulder. I gauged three claw marks on the back of his legs and quickly retreated to dodge the counterattack that came somewhat later.

"You cowardly Shifter! Fight like a man before I-" Ambrosia was cut off by a gigantic elephant that slammed into his side full-force. I felt one of my tusks impale him, but I knew he wouldn't die unless Jupiter helped. Speaking of Jupiter, that damn god wasn't even fighting! He was off to the side, cradling Jason's body against his chest with tears trickling down his face. He buried his head into his son's hair and stroked his chest, which no longer rose and fell.

I was distracted by this and Ambrosia landed a blow to my face. I trumpeted in alarm as I went toppling. If Ambrosia could take out an elephant in one blow, I knew this was trouble. Avery was dashing around and in between his legs, stabbing at any exposed skin with Tsunami, which must've reappeared in her pocket. Her face was determined, but I could clearly see the fear behind her eyes. I you hadn't known her as long as I did, you wouldn't have noticed. I regained my footing, which was awfully hard when you had pillar-like elephant feet. It was also hard to regain footing since elephants can't jump. I know; mortifying, right?

Ambrosia tried to skewer me with his spear as I got up, but Avery sent a jet of water racing across his path and he tripped and fell. Oldest trick in the book. Avery leapt onto the Giant's back and plunged her trident deep into his flesh. I drove my tusks into his shoulder and the Giant howled in pain, thrashing and causing Avery to fall off his back. The trident stayed deeply in the skin. Ambrosia tried to pull it out, but he couldn't reach it.

"Lord Jupiter! Please! We need help!" I begged as Ambrosia stormed over to me. I changed into human form and braced myself for what was coming. If I died, then maybe I could try to find Jason's soul in Elysium…if I even achieved Elysium. The thought may have been too much wishful thinking and not strong enough in the accomplishment area, but the thought wasn't half bad.

Images of Jason flashed in my mind; the first time I saw him chained to the ground of the Field with Percy looking hot and miserable, the time he woke up and was caught red-handed looking at my girlfriend's butt, eating popcorn with him, truth or dare, his dazzling smile, his infectious laugh, his big heart, and his look of determination as we began our mission. A single tear trickled down my face and I closed my eyes and waited for Ambrosia to kill me. I hoped he made it quick and not slow and brutal as he did to Jason.

But the blow never came. I looked up to see a huge pile of golden dust, with Tsunami gently placed on top. I turned to see Jupiter, the Master Bolt raised. We had done it. We had killed him. The problem was that his Styx oath died along with him, so we had to get the eight demigods that were staring at us with awe and Jason's body, which Jupiter had placed gently on the ground with his hand folded over his chest. It looked like Jason was sleeping, which only added even more sadness to the entire situation, for it was far from that. Jupiter had righted all of Jason's bones and his son looked almost peaceful; there was no look of pain or suffering on his face and his features weren't pinched. He seemed almost happy.

But we had to go now. I quickly retrieved my sword and slashed through all of the monster guards that had just gotten over the fact that the Styx promise was broken and were now charging at us. Avery chopped through all of the demigods' chains and Jupiter had flashed away, leaving us with a polished ruby and a message; "Break this ruby, I honestly have no idea why the hell it's a ruby but it just is, and you will be transported to Olympus. We need to speak with all of you. Bring Jason, too." Jupiter had said. He said the name Jason as if he wasn't dead, but I had no time to judge right now.

I quickly changed into a dragon and Avery and Percy hopped on. Percy had Jason's body in his arms and his eyes were full of pain. All of a sudden there was another dragon next to me. Instead of red, its scales were green-ish. The Chinese-ish, brute-ish, muscular kid that I saw who was with the others was nowhere to be seen.

"So, you're the second Shifter?" I asked him.

"I guess." the other dragon said and shrugged in the best way he could while in dragon form.

"I'm Simon Drake." I introduced myself.

"Frank Zhang, nice to meet you." We awkwardly shook dragon hands, which was hard since dragons don't have opposable thumbs. The other demigods were on Frank's back and I only had Percy, Avery, and Jason on board. It seemed to weigh him down a bit.

"I can take some passengers from you, if you want." I suggested.

"No. It's okay, I guess." Frank replied, shaking his large, scaly head.

"You keep saying 'I guess.'" I noted.

"And you keep being judgmental." Frank retorted, sarcastic hurt dripping from his reptilian voice.

"I hate to interrupt a budding bromance but can we just go?" Avery snapped.

"Girlfriend?" Frank asked in a low voice.

"Yup. She can be a pain in the ass but she's awesome…_I guess_." I replied.

"Hey!"

"Whatever let's just go." With that, I extended my wings and launched into the sky before Frank could come up with a retort. I shot through the air like a bullet, with Frank on my tail. "You got the ruby?" I called to Avery over the sound of wind rushing to my ears.

"Yes!" Avery cried and I felt her shifting as she cracked the ruby over one of my spines. Thunder began to rumble overhead and lightning flashed right in front of us. A swirling vortex opened up in midair and before I could brace myself, we were sucked inside.


	17. The Final Goodbye

**(A/N) I can't believe that this is that last chapter. THIS. IS THE. LAST. DAMN. CHAPTER. OF. MY FIRST. FANFICTION. I will miss you all! (And I'll also miss trolling you, but that's a different story) BUT if you follow/fav me, you can witness all of the other wacky adventures I'll send the characters of PJO on! And also, you should review to see if I should make a sequel to Contest! If I get enough reviews that say yes (you can't review twice to say I should make a sequel, that doesn't count!), it's on. But it may take a while since I'm working on two other fanfictions. **

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**I've said it at least fourteen times and I will say it again: I DO NOT OWN PJO; I ONLY OWN THE OCs**

Chapter Sixteen: The Final Goodbye

**Percy POV**

We won. We actually won against Ambrosia. I should be happy, but the cost to win was just too high. I cradled Jason in my arms as we went through the portal, taking in the last smell and feel of him before we burned him and his shroud. His skin was cold against mine and I cried into his blonde hair. Avery snuck pitying glances behind me as she steered Simon the dragon through the swirling vortex to Olympus. I heard the sound of Frank's large wings beating behind us, but I didn't look back. I didn't care that I'd finally be reunited with my friends. I didn't care that we'd defeated Ambrosia and would now be off to defeat Gaea. I didn't care that we'd made it out of the Giants' HQ alive. All I wanted was Jason.

And on top of all that, I'd be losing Avery and Simon, too. They were as much of a family to me as the rest of the seven, now down to six, and Nico and Reyna were. I knew we'd have to part ways sooner or later, but I'd shoved the thought to the back of my mind. Now the time was here. It wasn't an 'Oh it's a long time away' situation anymore; it was now. I didn't want Avery and Simon to leave. I wanted them to stay forever.

I didn't even look up from Jason as we landed in front of the gates to the Olympian Council room. I'd been there too many times before. Frank landed beside Simon and everyone dismounted. I picked up Jason bridal-style and carried him into the throne room, with my friends in pursuit. Those who hadn't seen Olympus before, like Avery, Simon, Frank, Hazel, Piper, Leo, and Reyna marveled at it, but I knew it was mostly to keep their minds off of Jason. Jason had never seen Olympus. He would've loved it, but now I was carrying his body and he would never be able to see it. Ever.

A tear trickled down my cheek as the huge doors opened to reveal the gods, all present and sitting on their respective thrones in their giant forms. Hades was sitting on the guest throne and Hestia was tending to the hearth in her eight-year-old form. She flashed me a smile as I passed, but I didn't return it. I was too caught up in grief to smile. I carried Jason down the steps and gently placed his body in front of Zeus' throne. I bowed and the god of the skies nodded gravely. He snapped his fingers and a purple shroud with the words SPQR and the legion's eagle sewn in with golden thread appeared over the body. I rejoined my friends in front of the Council. Now that there was nothing else to see, all of them were crying.

Piper was hysterical, sobbing into Leo's shoulder while he made a vain attempt to console her, but tears streamed down his face all the same. Even Nico, knowing Jason for the little time that he did, was crying. A single tear trickled down his face and I took his hand. He looked up at me and his cheeks turned a shade of red.

"Should I let-"

"No. Don't let go. I mean, you don't have to, but-" Nico was cut off as I pulled him into an embrace. I felt him tense all over, but pretty soon he relaxed against me and buried his face into my neck.

"Percy?" he whispered into my ear.

"Yes, Nico?"

"I-I-I promised Jason I would tell you this, but…I kind of…have…" he paused.

"Yes?"

"A crush on…"

"Annabeth? Its fine Nico, I get it. As long as you don't-"

"No, not on Annabeth." I was surprised, but I didn't comment. Nico was opening up to me; telling me a secret of his, and that didn't usually happen. I didn't want to discourage him, so I kept quiet. "I have…a crush on…you." I didn't say anything for a long time and Nico became tense again. I'd better say something or else he might think that I was mad, which I certainly wasn't. At all.

"Nico, I don't love you in _that way, _but it doesn't matter."

"It…it doesn't?"

"No, not at all. As long as you're still the Nico I met all those years ago, I'm fine with that. It doesn't make you who you are. You were born that way."

"Thank you."

"For what? If anything I should thank you for telling me."

"No, thank you for…not being angry." At this I hugged him tighter and felt his tears wet my shirt.

"It's okay. It's okay." I murmured into his ear. We stayed there for a few moments, just locked into a bear hug. I leaned down and kissed his forehead, in a brotherly way, of course, but I swear Nico blushed madly. We were interrupted by the Olympians, who had been discussing something and had probably come to a decision of some sort.

"Avery O'Hara and Simon Drake, please step forward." Zeus thundered. Hesitantly, my two new friends walked forward and confronted the Olympians. "It seems like you two had taken it upon yourselves to defeat the Forgotten One and rescue our children. Is that so?"

"Y-y-yes, sir." Avery stuttered. I'd never seen her so frightened before. Then again, I was scared out of my mind when I first ventured to Olympus to return the stolen Master Bolt.

"It was very foolish of you, but your plan did seem to be effective, or all of you wouldn't be in front of us right now." Athena remarked. "I am forever in awe how you managed to fend off the Forgotten One for that long before Simon here, with his wickedly clever plan, summoned Zeus with the Locket of the Olympians. Simon, you are a mortal with a lot of potential, and the only way you are on Olympus right now is because you portaled rather than use the elevator on the Empire State building. Even so, you continue to amaze us as the only mortal Shifter ever to be born."

"Um…err…" Simon stuttered.

"We are grateful, Lady Athena." Avery covered for Simon and he gave her a grateful look.

"It seems like you need to be rewarded. Does anyone disagree?" my father, _our _father, piped up. Surprisingly, no Olympian, not even Dionysus or Ares, complained. Some looked rather reluctant to reward Simon and Avery, but they didn't voice their thoughts out loud. It was obvious that they were the heroes in this situation. They saved both us and the world.

"Very well." Zeus sighed. "First Simon. What do you wish for? Money? Immortality? Godhood?" There was a long pause. Simon had his brows furrowed and he looked like he was in very deep thought, a look I've seen many times on a certain Wise Girl.

"I wish to be a demigod." Simon said finally.

"Godhood it is then-wait, what?" Zeus seemed appalled.

"Though I'm not sure if that's even possible since both of my parents are still alive and mortal as ever besides their ability to Shift, I want to be like Avery. As a mortal I am looked down upon. I am seen as weak, like the person who always needs to be saved. I know I'm strong though, it's just that…I'm not strong _enough. _I want to go to one of the camps with Avery and not be stopped by their barriers. I don't want to be saved by others; I want to _be the one _to save others. If you cannot grant this wish, I can think of another…" Simon's voice trailed off.

All of the gods were silent. They exchanged looks, shrugs, and clipped whispers, but none of them seemed to be complaining. Zeus straightened on his throne. "There are no objections and we Olympians respect the fact that you want to become one of our children. Therefore…Athena, will you please continue?"

The goddess of wisdom and battle strategy stood. Her aura glowed a soft yellow and her grey eyes shined with mixed emotions that could not be deciphered. "Simon Drake, please come forward." She said. Simon hesitated but walked over to Athena. The goddess grasped Simon's shoulders with both hands, making him tense. "Though you cannot be my biological child, from here on I claim you as one of my children. You show great intelligence and craftiness, as well as a gift when it comes to battle strategy. You are hereby known as Simon Drake, the Shifter; son of Athena." All of the demigods cheered and clapped Simon on the back as he rejoined us. Athena returned to her place on the throne in a dignified manner, as if it had never happened.

Zeus turned to Avery. "And your wish my dear?" he asked. His blue eyes gleamed with interest. One of Poseidon's children, his son (wink wink), had already turned down his offer to become a god, but this was his daughter, a daughter of Neptune not Poseidon. She was a toss-up. The question was, what would she choose? Avery wavered. Her green eyes, identical to mine, darted around the room, looking for something that may be worth wishing for. Finally her eyes rested on the shroud and lit up with excitement. A grin spread across her face.

"She's choosing immortality. I know she is." I heard Leo mutter to Frank. I wanted to slap him; she wasn't going to wish for something for herself, she was going to wish for the good of all of us. I knew what she was going to choose. I could see it in her eyes. Avery locked gazes with Hades and an understanding passed in between them. No matter how brief the exchange was I was positive what she was going to wish for.

"I want Jason." She said boldly. All of the Council gasped and looked at Hades, who shrugged.

"She seems pretty set on it. It's her wish; I won't complain. I wouldn't allow this if you hadn't saved my son and my daughter from the hands for the Giants, though." With that, Hades snapped his fingers. The room was silent. All eyes were on the shroud that hid Jason from view.

"DAFUQ IS THIS SHIT!?" Came an indignant cry from under the shroud and everyone sucked in a breath as something began to move under it. All of a sudden Jason threw off the shroud, spluttering huffily. His hair was a mess and there were bloodstains on his clothes, but otherwise he looked as if he hadn't just resurrected. The color rushed back to his skin and his eyes were shining with life. Jason looked around curiously. "What's everyone staring at?" he asked. The entire room, including the gods, burst out laughing. "What?" Jason scoffed and crossed his arms, which only made everyone laugh harder.

All of us ran over to him and hugged him tightly. "ERGH. UM. CAN'T BREATHE. OW. CRUSHING MY RIBS. NICE TO SEE YOU TOO. WHAT DAFUQ IS GOING ON!? WHY ARE WE ON OLYMPUS!?"

"Forget Man-whore, blonde superman, and all that other shit we called you. I know name thee: BLONDE JESUS, except it took you three hours to resurrect, not three days." I said and gave him and ruffled his hair. Everyone laughed even louder and we all had a group hug. Zeus even joined in.

"Kay everyone. This calls for a celebration! And I'm the god of poetry and music, so I'm good at celebrations. I'm also good in bed." Apollo remarked and winked at Avery. Artemis looked appalled and bitch slapped that god across the face. "Ow." Apollo grumbled and he clapped his hands three times. Immediately decorations appeared around the hall and the Muses began playing wonderful upbeat music. All of a sudden Let it Go came on.

"OMFG THIS IS MY JAM!" Simon squealed in mock excitement and the festivities began.

"THE SNOW GLOWS WHITE ON THE MOUNTAIN TONIGHT NOT A FOOTPRINT TO BE SEEN! A KINGDOM OF ISOLATION AND IT LOOKS LIKE I'M THE QUEEN!" we all yelled at the top of our lungs, with Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Aphrodite, and Apollo joining in.

"C'mon Nico, sing along!" I urged and elbowed the son of Hades in the ribs.

"I'm sorry, but I don't sing. I don't even like Frozen." Nico replied and folded his arms across his chest.

"DAFUQ IS WRONG WIT YOU." I snapped.

"I'm sorry, but I don't." Nico said and shook his head vigorously. A grin spread across my face.

"HEY EVERYONE NICO LIKES M-"

"LET IT GO! LET IT GO! CAN'T HOLD IT BACK ANYMORE! LET IT GO! LET IT GO! TURN AWAY AND SLAM THE DOOR! I DON'T CARE WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO SAY! LET THE STORM RAGE ON! THE COLD NEVER BOTHERED ME ANYWAY!" Nico's voice rose above the other and he shot me a withering glare, but his eyes sparkled with amusement. And the celebration went on like that.

-Ω-

**Avery POV**

"Do you really have to go?" Percy asked quietly. We had portaled back to the Argo II after a night of partying. Leo, Jason, and Simon were passed out drunk on the deck, though I didn't know why Leo and Jason were drinking at age sixteen. I couldn't meet my half-brother's eyes. Simon and I just couldn't stay. We'd interfere with the prophecy, and that wouldn't end well. The seven had to handle Gaea alone.

"Simon and I can make sure everything is well back in the US while you're gone. We can make sure a feud doesn't break out between the two camps after Nico and Reyna stopped the war and limit monster activity." I suggested hopefully. Percy shook his head.

"It's not the same. We need you here. _I _need you here." He said sadly in vain attempt to get us to stay.

"We can't Percy. Keeping the peace is the best we can do. As much as we want this to be our fight too, it's yours." I replied. "I hope you understand."

"I don't understand."

I sighed and hugged him. He hugged back. After a long time, I tore away and walked down into Percy's room, feeling my brother's hurt green gaze on my back as I disappeared below deck. Since there wasn't enough room for all of us, I was sharing a room with Percy and Simon was sharing Annabeth's room since both of them were technically children of Athena.

I took out a sheet of loose leaf paper and wrote some important stuff down; Simon and my cell phone number, our house phone number (which wouldn't be very useful since we wouldn't be back at our house), our address just in case they needed extra weapons, where the spare key was (LOL I'm not telling you where it is; I don't want you damn fangirls and fanboys breaking into our house), the name of the hotel in New York City that we were going to stay at (I'm not telling you the name of that either), and other important stuff just to keep in touch. I sighed. I didn't want to leave them, but I had to.

-Ω-

**Jason POV**

Wow, who knew coming back to life could drive you to down twenty shots of whiskey with two of your drunk friends in under five minutes? The next day, after Simon, Leo, and I had recovered from our hangover, all of us gathered on the deck. I had a horrible headache, but I didn't give a shit. All that I knew was that I would miss Avery and Simon. Avery had given us a piece of paper with a lot of important stuff so we could keep in touch and stuff like that, but I was still going to yearn for them every day that they would be gone.

We exchanged hugs and good-byes, all the while telling each other to be safe and take care, blah, blah, blah. Simon turned into a huge crimson dragon and Avery hopped on. She waved farewell to us and smiled a smile that was as dazzling as the sun as Simon took off into the sky with a few beats of his large, powerful wings. I watched them fly away until they were nothing more than a speck in the distance. Even when they disappeared entirely, I still watched the sky, which was painted with yellows, oranges, and reds to indicate the start of a new day.

I recounted our adventures, and it all started when I was hit in the head by a Cyclopes. I silently hoped that one day, whether it be tomorrow, the next day, the next week, the next month, the next year, or even ten years from now, that our paths would cross again.

******_-That's all folks! -_**

**Ω**

**(A/N) Just a final goodbye! Remember to review and see if Contest will have a sequel or not! There are no more damn chapters to enjoy in this book, but follow/fav me and you can enjoy more of my fanfiction! Kudos to everyone who commented/followed/favorited this story!**

**CHEERIO EVERYONE!**

***Terminator Voice***

**I'LL BE BACK!**

**-Iwovepizza**


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